The Irish Times was the only daily broadsheet newspaper to increase sales in the first half of 2005, according to the latest circulation figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

The newspaper's average net sales for the six months from January to June rose by 1,534 copies to 117,543. This was a 1.3 per cent increase on the same period in 2004.

In contrast, sales of the broadsheet version of the Irish Independent fell sharply during the period, down by 46,264 to 82,771 - a drop of almost 36 per cent. This decline was only partly matched by a rise in sales of the 'compact' or tabloid version of the paper - up from 52,045 to 81,431. Sales of the Irish Independent are now virtually equally divided between broadsheet and compact.

Overall combined sales of the two formats fell from 181,080 to 164,202 although Independent News and Media (IN&M), which publishes the papers, yesterday rejected this comparison on the basis that the compact was not launched until February 2004, was not immediately available in all parts of the country and was only sold six days a week from November 2004. ABC describes the broadsheet and compact as different products.

Most broadsheet editions of the Irish Independent (96 per cent) were sold at full cover price. However almost 20 per cent of the compact editions were sold at a discount, known as a "bulk sale". Some 97.1 per cent of sales of The Irish Times were sold at full cover price.

The Irish Examiner recorded a further decline in circulation during the first six months of the year - down by 278 copies to 57,331, a drop of 0.5 per cent.

ABC comparisons are normally made between one six-month period and the equivalent six months the previous year.

However, when the figures for January to June this year are compared with the six months from July to December 2004, circulation of The Irish Times is up 2.6 per cent or 3,015 from 114,528. Sales of the broadsheet Irish Independent are down 17 per cent from 99,684 while those of the compact are up 12.7 per cent from 72,226. When the two formats are combined, sales are down 7,708 from more than 170,000. Sales of the Irish Examiner are down 1,447 from 58,778.

Comparing the latest figures for the six months to June with the same six months in 2004, the Evening Herald - the only national evening newspaper in the Republic - increased sales by 1,320 copies to 93,830. This was a rise of 1.4 per cent on the same period in 2004.

In the Sunday market, the main loser was the Sunday Tribune. Sales in the six months to the end of June were down by 15,839 copies to 71,187. This was a drop of 18.2 per cent on the period from January to June in 2004 and represented the paper's worst performance for many years.

Ireland on Sunday was also a major loser. Its sales slipped by 12,729 copies to 139,170, a fall of 8.4 per cent. The Sunday Business Post dropped slightly by 0.6 per cent. It sold 51,823 copies to the end of June compared with 52,115 in the similar period in 2004.

Sales of the highest selling newspaper in the Republic, the Sunday Independent, were almost static, down by 890 copies or 0.3 per cent to 291,036. Sales of the Sunday World in the Republic and Northern Ireland were up 5,339 to 273,667, a 2 per cent rise.

Because one of its shareholders is a British-based publisher (Express Newspapers), the Irish Star was not included in the latest ABC figures. However, the newspaper last night issued ABC figures itself. The paper had an average net daily sale of 108,221 copies from January to June of this year. A spokeswoman said this was the highest since its launch in 1988 and compared to 107,916 sales per day in the same period in 2004.

Reacting to the latest figures, Louise Fitzpatrick of the Dublin advertising agency Initiative noted that most newspapers had seen a fall in sales.

She said the Irish Independent appeared to be suffering a backlash for its decision to go compact. "Almost half of all 'Independents' circulated are now of the compact edition, with the broadsheet suffering as a result. It looks as though consumers are now seeing the Independent as a compact, almost tabloid, or mid-market newspaper, degrading the upmarket image of the broadsheet. There are now over 46,000 less broadsheets circulated each week, with a net loss of almost 17,000 'Independents'."