Trinity Mirror says advertising markets have been volatile during the past six months with uncertain conditions set to continue.
The group, which produces more than 250 titles, said it expected advertising revenues for the 26 weeks to June 29th to be flat compared with last year.
A second quarter decline in advertising revenues of 0.4 per cent offset a 0.6 per cent increase in the first quarter, the company said in a statement ahead of its interim results close period.
Trinity said the weaker second-quarter performance reflected the impact of the war in Iraq and tough comparisons with June 2002 revenues during the football World Cup.
But there was better news for the flagship Daily Mirrortitle where Trinity has restored the normal cover price of 32p after a price-cutting war with the Sun.
The Mirror's circulation fell by 5.2 per cent during the first five months of 2003 but the company said it had recovered to rise 1.9 per cent month-on-month in May following a 3.4 per cent fall in April.
With the media industry under pressure from tough advertising market conditions, Trinity said its regional division was expected to grow advertising revenue by 0.6 per cent for the 26 week period.
Trinity Mirror owns two newspaper groups in the North: Century Newspapers Ltd and the Derry Journal Group. Century comprises the staunchly unionist Belfast Newsletterand the Belfast Newsand Farming Life.
The Northern Ireland newspaper interests of Trinity Mirror could be up for sale as early as August, as the company conducts a review of its whole business, it was reported earlier this week.