The remaining €102m (£87m) loan from the German government-owned bank KfW had already been reduced by around two thirds following the press giant's €420m capital raise in September 2010.

It paid off the outstanding amount at the end of 2010, ahead of an initial anticipated 2012 deadline.

"We would like to thank the KfW for supporting us during the financial and economic crisis and helping us to bridge this difficult period," said chief financial officer Dirk Kaliebe. "It was, however, always understood that we would revert to capital market financing as soon as possible."

The company now has much lower financing than the original €1.4bn at less than €900m, split equally between a bank consortium and a credit line supported by the government, while financial liabilities now sit at €377m compared with €816m as of March 2010.