This was despite a 6% decrease in revenue during the period to £663.8m (2012: £706.5m), although decline slowed through the year from 8.5% in the first half to 3.5% in the second half and just 0.9% decline in the last two months of the year.
Statutory results, however, which include a one-off £225m impairment charge of goodwill and intangible assets, showed a pre-tax loss of £160.8m compared to a profit of £9.7m in 2012, resulting in no dividend payment for the fifth consecutive year.
Chief executive Simon Fox said: “It is clear to me that our strategy for growth, which I outlined in March last year, is gaining momentum.
“I am particularly pleased with our rapidly growing digital audience and with the benefits we are driving in harnessing the combined strength of our national and regional titles. I look forward to making further progress with our strategic objectives during 2014."
Net debt for the publisher was reduced by £45.8m to £97m despite investing £14.2m in a 20% stake in Local World, the local title publisher created through the merger of Northcliffe Media and Illiffe News and Media, in January 2013.
The company said it was also “on track” to repay £44.2m of maturing debt in June this year.
Continued tight management of costs and £12m of structural cost savings (£2m above target) coupled with a £5.1m contribution from Local World, were cited for the positive profits. Operating costs for the year fell by £38.5m year-on-year.
The print division achieved a 4.6% growth in third-party contract print revenue to £38.4m, while total revenues fell marginally by 0.9% to £65.7m due to a fall in newsprint prices and volumes.
The report highlighted an improvement in digital publishing revenues, which turned around a first-half 10% decline to 16.8% growth in H2. Revenues in the specialist digital division fell £2.7m to £18.7m, although profits increased from a £2.9m pre-tax loss in 2012 to a £400,000 profit in 2013, while publishing revenues fell £39.2m to £576.4m.
Looking ahead, the company stated: “Whilst we expect continued month-on-month volatility, at this early stage in the year we anticipate an improvement in trends as we progress through 2014.
“Although newsprint prices have increased for the first half of 2014, in addition to an increase in the second half of 2013, we expect further structural cost savings of £10m and ongoing cost mitigation actions to ensure that we have adequate headroom for investment whilst supporting profits and cashflows.”
