The company, which has operations in the UK, Ireland, Australasia and South Africa, reported revenue for the first half of the year of €800.8m, a rise of 9.2% on the same period in 2004.
INM reported strong advertising growth in its national titles in the UK, but said this was partly offset by a decline in recruitment advertising within its magazine division.
At The Independent newspaper, following its switch to tabloid size, advertising revenue was up by 18.5%, despite what the company described as a difficult second quarter and a volatile market. Overall, advertising revenue in the UK on a like-for-like basis was up by 5.5%.
Its Irish newspaper division also put in a strong performance, with advertising revenue up 14.6% and a rise in revenue of 9.2% to €207.1m. INM said that restructuring, which included the closure of the Sunday World print facility in Dublin with more than 150 job losses, had cut costs.
Revenues at INM's Australasian operations rose by 8.6% to €384.8m. Its New Zealand newspaper operation, including The New Zealand Herald, put in a strong performance as did its Australian radio division.
In South Africa, where it owns the Zulu newspaper Isolezwe and Conde Nast Independent Magazines, revenues rose by 17.7%.
Sir Anthony O'Reilly, CEO of INM, said: "Because of the geographically diversified nature of the group's asset base in strongly growing economies, its market leading brands and a commitment to be the low-cost operator, the board remains confident of [the] group's ability to deliver double-digit full year earnings growth for 2005 and to sustain superior earnings growth into the future."
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