Advertising drop hits Mirror firm

The Daily Mirror faces fierce competition from The Sun

Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror has seen a sharp fall in advertising sales and has said the market remains "weak".

The publisher of the Daily Mirror said it expected advertising revenues to be down 10.6% on a like-for-like basis in the 26 weeks to the start of July.

Its national newspapers suffered the most, with revenues down 12.1%, while its regional titles saw a 9.7% drop.

Trinity Mirror said all major advertising categories were weak with the exception of property.

Tough market

Recruitment advertising across its stable of 240 local and regional titles fell 21% while car adverts fell 13%.

"The advertising environment remains weak and management continue to run the business on the assumption that this will continue for the remainder of the year," the firm said in a statement.

Circulation revenues are expected to be largely flat over the period.

The firm is forecasting a 1.4% drop in sales of its national titles - including the Sunday Mirror and the People - although sales of its regional papers are set to increase by 1.4%.