Despite healthy circulation gains in the last year, Ireland on Sunday is still losing money, its owner, Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) said yesterday.
In April, the paper reported pre-tax losses of €14.6 million for the year to September 2002 and while the current level of losses were not disclosed yesterday, DMGT said it was still a loss-making title.
The title is owned via a company called Associated Newspapers Ireland.
Ireland on Sunday has doubled its circulation in the last year to 160,000, but the initial outlay by DMGT on the title came to €11 million.
DMGT is the ultimate owner of the following titles: Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, the freesheet Metro and the Evening Standard. However these papers are owned on behalf of DMGT by Associated Newspapers.
The ultimate controlling party of DMGT is Viscount Rothermere, son of the legendary Fleet Street owner Lord Rothermere. Viscount Rothermere is estimated to be the 23rd richest man in Britain.
The trading statement said all of the titles continued to face "challenging trading conditions".
A trading statement made no reference to advertising conditions in the Republic, but the company said titles competing for classified advertising in the London market were facing the biggest challenge.
While advertising revenue was sluggish for most titles, circulation gains continued, said the trading statement.
"The circulation of Associated Newspapers' national titles has remained strong, with both the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday increasing their sales in the six months to August against a declining market."
"The circulation of the Evening Standard was only 1 per cent down in the same period, despite a 5p cover price rise in January.
"Metro continues to perform well with its average circulation up by 5 per cent to 880,000 and its profits steadily increasing," it said
"Ireland on Sunday has doubled its average circulation to 160,000 in the 11 months to the end of August, compared to the same period last year, but remains in loss," it added.
Sources said the chances of Associated Newspapers Ireland launching a daily newspaper in the short term were remote. Bringing the Sunday title into profit first was now the priority.
Associated Newspapers' display advertising revenues declined by 3.5 per cent for the 11 months to the end of August, compared to the same period last year, but the decline slowed in July and August.
By category, retail was still holding up and travel recovered to pre-Iraq war levels, but most other major categories, particularly financial, remained weak.
Overall classified advertising revenues were up by 3.3 per cent to the end of August, but those of the Evening Standard were down by nearly 10 per cent compared to the 11 months to August 2002.
