Trinity Mirror to review options

Price-cutting by rival papers has hurt The Daily Mirror

Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror will carry out a comprehensive review of its business after profits were hit by a weak advertising market.

The firm, whose 260 titles include the Daily Mirror and The People, suffered a 12.8% fall in profits to £98.1m in the six months to the start of July.

The firm blamed the decline on poor ad revenues as a tougher economic climate affected consumer spending.

The corporate review would position it "for future growth", the firm said.

Price-cutting pressure

Some analysts have called for the publisher - formed by the merger of Mirror Group Newspapers and Trinity in 1999 - to separate its regional and national newspaper titles.

The board has not taken a pre-determined view of what the outcome of this review will be Trinity Mirror spokesman

The review - led by chief executive Sly Bailey - will consider all possibilities for the business although Trinity Mirror said it would not speculate on what the outcome may be.

Investment bank Rothschilds has been hired to advise the firm on its options.

"We are ruling nothing in and nothing out," a Trinity Mirror spokesman said of the review.

"The board has not taken a pre-determined view of what the outcome of this review will be."

Trinity Mirror said its results reflected an adverse economic climate in which all main advertising categories except property had been affected.

Price-cutting by rival papers such as The Sun has also hit sales of flagship titles such as the Daily Mirror and the Daily Record.

Overall revenues fell 2% to £566.6m over the period.