The price war cost News Corp and Trinity Mirror millions of pounds. At a press conference earlier today in Sydney, News Corp said the battle had cost it around £40m.
Lachlan Murdoch, News Corp's deputy chief executive, said: "We didn't start the price war, now it's not up to us to finish it but we've won it. The Mirror is now showing its lowest circulation figures since the audit bureau began recording circulation in 1931. It's been a great win for us and we're very happy."
He added: "It will be less than that for the second half, due to us being able to follow if price comes up in some of the other markets."
The Daily Mirror has been selling for full price in most of the country apart from the London region. Trinity Mirror was revealed at the weekend to be ending its price cuts, which last May saw the Daily Mirror cut its price from 32p to 20p. The Sun continues to sell at 20p.
The cover price cut was originally introduced to showcase the revamped tabloid, but with little success. The campaign never had much of a chance because as soon as Trinity Mirror dropped its price, Rupert Murdoch's News International responded by cutting the price of the 30p Sun.
The price rise comes hot on the heels of the arrival of Sly Bailey from IPC Media as the news group's new chief executive.
News Corp said that operating income for its UK newspaper group fell 37%, despite a 6% rise in advertising revenue. However, News Corp said the cover price cut boosted The Sun's circulation by 5%.
In the ABC figures for January, The Sun was up 2.16% on January 2002 to 3,578,302, its rise emphasised the troubles faced by rival the Daily Mirror, which was down 3.08% year on year to 2,071,059.
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