Pre-tax losses for The Times and The Sun

Pre-tax losses for The Times and The Sunday Times fell to £87.7 million for the year to the end of June 2009, from £50.2 million in the previous 12 month period.

News International was also hit by News Group Newspapers, the subsidiary that publishes The Sun and the News of the World, as profits were down to £40.3 million from £44.7 million during the one-year period.

Turnover at both operations – Times Newspapers and News Group Newspapers – was also down, by 13.4% year on year to £385.5 million and 1.4% year on year to £617.9 million respectively.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned company said losses at Times Newspapers were due to declining ad revenues, which it expects to continue for the “foreseeable future”.

NewsCorp Investments, which owns News International and book publisher Harper Collins, had an overall turnover of £1.3 billion in the year to the end of June 2009, down from £1.4 billion in 2008.

However, operating profit fell from £107.3 million in 2008 to £27.3 million, before exceptional items of £31.7 million were removed, leading to a pre-tax loss of £4.6 million, before interest and investment income.

The company confirmed plans to implement paywalls on its news websites, and said it is progressing well in its ecommerce businesses, including The Sunday Times Wine Club, which has 300,000 members.