Its regional titles were being sustained by high levels of recruitment and property advertising. However, this is not expected to continue into 2002. Analysts have predicted that pre-tax profits will fall from £154.1m in 2000 to £139.5m in 2001, when it publishes its full-year earnings on Thursday.
The UK's largest newspaper publisher, Trinity Mirror, owns around 250 regional papers and a range of trade titles as well as The Mirror and the Sunday People.
The group is also expected to unveil a new business strategy for its national titles when it publishes its full-year 2001 earnings on Thursday.
Joe Sinyor, chief executive of Trinity Mirror's newspapers division has been carrying out a strategic review which could lead to The Mirror aiming at a more upmarket readership.
Editor Piers Morgan has already begun to emphasise hard-hitting news over celebrity stories since September 11. There is also speculation that the Mirror will be dropping its "red top" in order to dissociate itself from other tabloids, especially bitter rival The Sun.
In the latest newspaper ABCs to January, The Mirror's circulation had risen by just over 15,000 to 2.179m copies, against The Sun's 3.469m, which has fallen off by 123,000.
Trinity Mirror's biggest Sunday paper, the Sunday People, has caught the eye of at least four potential buyers. Richard Desmond and Mohammed Al Fayed are both reported to have approached Trinity Mirror, though the publishers say they have no intention of selling the title.
At lunch today, Trinity Mirror's shares were down 2.5p, or 0.6%, to 401 pence.
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