REGIONAL newspapers group Johnston Press said today it saw shoots of recovery in a difficult advertising market this year, despite profits falling 6% during a tough 2006.

The company, which publishes more than 300 regional papers including the Yorkshire Post, said like-for-like revenues from print advertising were "slightly" down in the early months of 2007 but the rate of decline was reducing,

Chairman Roger Parry said: "We believe that we will continue to see an improvement in the year-on-year performance in the coming months."

The positive sentiment echoes rival newspaper group Trinity Mirror, which last week said it saw an "encouraging finish" to 2006.

Johnston's underlying pre-tax profits slipped to £146.7 million during last year in "difficult" trading conditions. It said the worst-hit print advertising sector was recruitment, down 17% year-on-year. Tweet