The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph publisher posted a pre-tax profit of £53.1m in its 2009 results, despite a 7.7% drop in turnover to £317m.

However, its pre-tax loss of £15.7m in 2008 was largely the result of an exceptional cost of £32.9m relating to the termination of its joint print contract with the Express Group at Westferry.

The company said that a tight control on costs and the benefits from the integration of its print and online businesses had helped counteract the effects of the recession and a steep increase in newsprint prices at the start of 2009.

TMG added that circulation revenues had proved resilient thanks to "a strong and loyal subscriber base".

It said: "Despite the recessionary pressures on revenues and a steep increase in newsprint prices at the start of 2009, a tight control on costs, alongside the benefits flowing from the successful integration of the print and online businesses begun in 2007, enabled the group to achieve this 29% profit increase."