The company said total underlying ad revenue in the period at national newspapers arm Associated Newspapers fell 15% year on year. Within this figure, revenue from Associated's newspaper operations, including Mail Online, fell 12% - much improved from the 23% fall posted in the previous quarter.
Overall, the largest display category, retail, increased 6% in the quarter, boosted by what DMGT termed "strong advertising by the supermarkets" while display travel advertising was up by 9%.
However, while the company noted that "ad revenue in the quarter showed a lower decline than in the previous quarter, with June being the best month", it said that "July has so far been disappointing". It added: "[Ad revenues] remain volatile from week to week, with little visibility on future performance."
In contrast to the slight improvement at Associated Newspapers, DMGT said Northcliffe Media, the group's regional arm, posted a 33% drop in ad revenue year on year, compared with a year-on-year decline of 36% in the previous quarter.
In the face of the economic downturn, Northcliffe has cut costs across its business and DMGT revealed UK publishing costs were 19% lower in the quarter than last year, with all major cost categories down. The closure of presses in Leicester and Bristol has further reduced printing costs.
Martin Morgan, DMGT chief executive, said: "Since we last reported in May, trading conditions have remained weak in line with the board's expectations.
"The decisive action taken to defend profitability earlier in the year, along with the continued management of our cost base, is helping to offset the impact of these conditions.
"Revenue and cost initiatives targeted to improve profitability this year by £150 million have been delivered."
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