Independent News and Media has said it has seen a noticeable improvement in advertising revenue since the beginning of June.
In an interim management statement for the 41 weeks to October 11, the media group said that the rate of decline in newspaper ad revenues slowed to 8.1%, compared to a decline of 14.6% in the first six months of the year.
Online revenues increased by 18.2%, resulting in 11.9% growth year to date. Circulation revenues were broadly unchanged with revenue reducing 5.1% since July.
INM said the Irish economy still has challenges ahead, but that consumer sentiment has improved, property prices are showing signs of stabilisation and forecasts indicate Irish economic growth next year and beyond.
''The improving outlook for the Irish economy should also benefit from the upcoming Budget which is now expected to be less severe that originally forecast,'' today's statement added.
Shares in INM rose today in Dublin trade after today's statement.
The media company said that costs reduced by 8.3% in the year to date, which contributed to a 3.8% increase in operating profits. It said it intends to pursue further cost saving opportunities, through "ongoing process review and improvement".
INM reported "substantial" progress on its three stage debt restructuring agreement with its banks which was announced in April. The stage of the restructuring involved the sale of Independent News & Media South Africa in August.
The second stage was a restructuring of the group's Irish defined benefit pension schemes, which involved a reduction of members' accrued pension benefits. Based on the estimated deficit, the restructuring of the pension schemes saw a reduction in the pension deficit of about €110m.
The third and final stage of the restructuring is an equity issue, which INM said will give it financial stability and give it a firm platform to implement its business plan and strategic repositioning.
''The completion of the capital raise option will also significantly lower the group's annual interest costs and extend INM's debt maturity profile,'' the company added.
