Trinity Mirror reveals softening of national advertising revenues

LONDON - Trinity Mirror has seen growth in advertising revenue of only 2.3% during the first four months of the year, after a dismal performance in March and April.

Group ad revenue for the first four months increased by 2.3%, with a strong performance in January and February, when revenues rose 6.5%, partially offset by a decline of 1.4% for March and April, the company said in an AGM statement.

At Trinity Mirror's national division, which includes the Daily Mirror and The People, advertising revenues fell by 2.4%. Growth of 2% at the company's Scottish titles helped offset a 3.9% decline for the UK as a whole.

Trinity Mirror's chairman Sir Victor Blank said that it was too early to determine the implications of recent trends in ad revenue due to the very early timing of Easter and "uncertainties created by the General Election".

He added: "In a difficult marketplace, our national titles continue to maintain advertising volume share."

Regional newspaper ad revenues proved more buoyant, up by 4%, although growth in most categories was offset by a 2.7% decline in recruitment ad and a 0.8% fall in motors.

In March, the group predicted that revenue growth this year is expected to be lower than 2004 due to the impact of tougher comparatives for 2005.

However, Blank said: "The board continues to have confidence in its performance-based strategy and anticipates a satisfactory outcome for the year."

Group circulation revenues have increased by 3.1% and circulation revenues for the regional and national titles increased by 4.8% and 1.6% respectively.

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