Mirror said its regional newspapers "Biggest to Best" strategy was progressing well and the division delivered an increase in revenues of £9.4m and cost savings of £10.6m. In addition, the cost reduction plans initiated in 2001 delivered further savings of £3.4m.
Overall savings of £32.8m were delivered in 2002 from cost reduction plans and the company said it was on track to increase these cost savings in 2003 to £42m in 2003.
The company reported operating profit before exceptionals of £190.6m, marginally ahead of 2001's £189.9m, despite a £32.8m or 2.9% decline in revenues.
At the national newspapers, operating profit fell by £17.6m to £77.6m, partly as a result of the drop in advertising revenue and investment in the UK national titles.
Over at the regionals, it was a different story. The regional newspaper operations achieved operating growth of 4.4% to £120.1m, despite turnover falling by 0.7% to £515.9m. Excluding regional freesheet Metros, the division achieved an increase in operating profit of 1.7% to £121.6m, despite a fall in revenue of 0.9% to £506.8m.
The strong performance of the regional titles against the nationals will make the case, for some, of de-merging the group and selling off the national newspapers, giving Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey something to think about.
At the national titles, circulation revenue declined by 7.6% to £260.7m from 2001's £282.1m. The fall was primarily due to price cutting at the Trinity Mirror, which cost £23.5m -- all but £1.7m of that was spent on the Daily Mirror, compared with just £4m in total last time, of which £3.6m was on the Daily Mirror.
Despite the investment and, as earlier reported, the Daily Mirror's circulation over the 12-month period fell by 3.4%. These circulation falls notwithstanding, Trinity Mirror claims that research has indicated that the brand repositioning of the Mirror has been well received by the readership.
The Sunday Mirror's circulation fell 3.2% while The People plummeted by 7.8% during the 12-month period. The title was relaunched in August 2002 with major changes to the product, including a new sports supplement, supported by a marketing campaign.
However, Trinity Mirror admitted the paper had been hit hard by the launch of Richard Desmond's Daily Star on Sunday, leading to an initial loss of 100,000 copies.
Bailey said: "The Trinity Mirror businesses have tremendous potential. My job is to unlock this potential and position the business to deliver enhanced shareholder value. I will be reporting back on my plans in due course."
Advertising revenue within the regional newspaper operations declined by 1.4% to £394.5m, compared with £400.2m last time.
Trinity Mirror said a clear north/south divide has emerged throughout the year with advertising revenues in London and the South East down 9.9%, the rest of the division achieved growth of 1.7%.
Circulation revenue for the regional newspapers declined by 0.9% to £81.1m against £81.8m in 2001. Modest declines in circulation were partially offset by limited cover price increases.
The Scottish market has proved extremely difficult during the year, with 12-month declines in circulation for the Daily Record and Sunday Mail of 5.8% and 3.8% respectively. The poor performance of the Daily Record is put down to price competition in Scotland with very limited price discounting by the Daily Record. Circulation revenue for the Scottish titles fell by 7.5% to £54.8m, with revenue lost through circulation declines and price cutting.
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