British newspaper publisher Johnston Press has said advertising revenue at its titles in the Republic of Ireland fell by 16.7% in the first half of this year compared with a year earlier.
It blamed weakening economic conditions, and in particular the steep decline in the property market.
The group has also taken a £109m charge after a new estimate lowered the value of its titles, and says most of this was related to its newspapers in the Republic, which it bought in 2005 and 2006.
Johnston Press owns the Leinster Leader group, the Leitrim Observer, the Kilkenny People and the Longford Leader and also has a number of interests in Northern Ireland.
Overall, the company's pre-tax profits dropped 18% to £62.5m as revenues fell 6% to £293m. Overall advertising revenues were down 9.5%. The company said advertising trends had continued to deteriorate and its future results would be linked to the performance of the UK and Irish economies.
