British newspaper group Daily Mail & General Trust reported an accelerating decline in regional advertising revenue as demand for recruitment ads fell sharply in a fragile UK economy.

Regional ad sales fell 12 per cent in the 20 weeks to March 20th, compared with a 6 per cent decline in the company's financial first quarter to end-December. The company cut 7 per cent of its staff in the five months to end-February.

DMGT said there was "continued uncertainty over medium-term outlook, particularly for B2C (business to consumer) businesses, given the external economic environment and fragile consumer confidence in the UK".

The group - which owns the Irish Daily Mail, a variety of trade shows and business-to-business publications and services - makes two-thirds of its sales in the UK.

For the five months to end February, B2B operations showed a 10 per cent underlying increase in revenues, while national newspaper advertising rose 4 per cent, slower than the 6 per cent growth in the first quarter.

DMGT said first-half adjusted operating profit should show some improvement over last year, excluding exceptional costs of around £10 million for the reorganisation of its regional media unit, which will bear the brunt of job cuts.

Reuters