Trinity Mirror, the newspaper group, said that the rate of decline in advertising revenues was beginning to slow, as it revealed a 25 per cent drop for the year to date.

The publisher, which owns titles including the Daily Mirror and The Birmingham Post, said that advertising revenue had fallen 20 per cent in the 17 weeks to October 25, compared with a decline of 28 per cent in the 26 weeks to June 28.

The company said: “Although trading conditions have remained difficult since the half year, we have seen an improvement in the rate of decline in revenues. While the trading environment will continue to be challenging over the remainder of the year and into 2010, we anticipate that the rate of decline in revenues will continue to improve.”

The national titles continued to outperform regional newspapers, with regionals falling 20 per cent in the past four months and nationals just 6 per cent.

Trinity Mirror has closed 27 titles in the past year and recently confirmed it was considering plans to turn some daily newspapers, such as The Birmingham Post, into weeklies. The group predicted an overall decline of 5 per cent in advertising revenues for November.

The figures follow similar updates on an improving advertising market from Johnston Press on Wednesday and from ITV last week. Shares in Trinity Mirror closed unchanged at 177¾p, having touched 184p during the day.

In the 17-week period, total revenue for the group fell by 12 per cent, compared with a 17 per cent decline experienced in the first half of the year. Group circulation has fallen 4 per cent in the year to date.

In the trading statement, the group said that it remained on track to deliver structural cost savings of £35 million. Net debt has fallen by a further £16 million during the period. It forecast that capital expenditure would be £5 million below the £25 million previously announced to the market.

Times Recommends

• Tories’ green bank to revolutionise power policy
• UK car industry receives £2.6bn injection
• Pru chief turns down seat on board of bank