The Irish Timesachieved an average daily circulation of 116,102 between July and December 2006, according to figures published yesterday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
This represented a fall of 1.1 per cent on the same period of 2005 when average daily circulation was 117,370. The number of full-price sales was 107,310, while the number of copies that were sold below the basic cover price (BCP) was 4,563.
The circulation of the Irish Independentwas almost static during the second half of last year at 163,732 copies a day compared to 163,598 during the same period in 2005. No breakdown was given of the respective sales of the broadsheet and the compact editions of the morning paper.
The Independent's daily circulation included bulk sales - papers either given away for free or sold for less than 50 per cent of the BCP - of 21,117. This meant the paper was "actively purchased" by 87 per cent of those who took a copy. By comparison, 96.3 per cent of the circulation of The Irish Timeswas "actively purchased".
The Irish Examiner, which is published by Cork-based Thomas Crosbie Holdings (TCH), saw its circulation decline by 4.5 per cent to 56,441.
This was due in large part to a reduction in the number of bulks included in its circulation figures. The Examinerrecorded 1,377 bulks between July and December of last year, compared with 2,829 in the same period of the previous year.
The circulation of the weekday Evening Herald, another title in the Independent News & Media (INM) stable, was flat during the six-month period at 85,756 compared to 85,506 between July and December 2005. Of this, 9,701 were bulks. The figures would suggest that the paper has withstood the impact of the Dublin freesheets.
The Saturday Herald, however, saw its circulation decline by 2.9 per cent to 50,087.
The Evening Echo, a Cork-based title owned by TCH, achieved a circulation increase of 1.7 per cent to 26,946.
Of the weekend newspapers, the Sunday Tribune, which is backed by INM, was the only title to show a drop in circulation.
The paper, which has undergone significant restructuring in the past couple of years, saw its circulation decline by 3.5 per cent year on year to 69,305.
The Sunday Business Post, which is owned by TCH, increased its circulation by 4.6 per cent to 53,860.
Sales of the Sunday Independentwere static at 287,750. Of this, 21,321 were bulks.
No figures were included in the "Island of Ireland" circulation report for Ireland on Sunday. The paper was relaunched in late September as the Irish Mail on Sunday.
The Irish Mail on Sunday'sfigures are now included in the UK version of the ABC, which is published monthly. In the three months period between October and December the paper recorded a circulation of 130,551.
Among the magazines, Imagewas the big winner, increasing its circulation by 19.4 per cent to 30,751. The RTÉ Guide, Ireland's biggest-selling glossy, slipped back by 6.5 per cent to 107,236.
The Dublinermagazine saw its circulation decline by 2.1 per cent to 10,038.
In Northern Ireland, circulation of the Belfast Telegraph, which is owned by INM and is the North's biggest-selling newspaper, fell by 6.4 per cent to 87,782 between Monday and Saturday.
