Ad revenues rose 1.6% over the last five months of the year, which followed a healthier 3.6% rise in the first half of the year.
Johnston said it expects full-year profits to come in at the top end of expectations.
The company said it expected a satisfactory performance by closely managing revenues and costs "which will be aided by an anticipated reduction in newsprint prices".
"The outlook for the year is for profit to be at the top of the range of market estimates, with emphasis on cost control helping to offset slower revenue growth," the company said in a statement.
Johnston is the fourth-largest publisher of regional newspapers in the UK. It owns the Scarborough Evening News, the Whitby Gazette and the Crawley Observer, among others. Its bid to buy eight of Trinity Mirror's regional titles is currently being examined by the Competition Commission.
After rising slightly when the markets opened in London this morning, Johnston Press was trading 2.56% down from its opening price, valued at 361.5p.
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