'Telegraph' in the black as Hollinger loses £152m

The publisher of The Daily Telegraph, Hollinger International, made a loss of $239m (£152m) last year although its British publications remained profitable.

The company, which is labouring under $500m of debt, did improve on a £335m loss in 2001. For the fourth quarter of 2002, the loss was $100m, it reported yesterday.

Lord Black of Crossharbour's Hollinger group owns newspapers across the world, including Chicago's Sun-Times, The Jerusalem Post, and, in the UK, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator.

The UK business saw revenues slip 5 per cent, compared with 2001, to £321m. There was an 8 per cent fall in advertising sales to £211m, including a 30 per cent drop in revenues from recruitment advertising. Display advertising was off 7 per cent for 2002, although in the fourth quarter, this category was up on 2001.

Hollinger said: "Notwithstanding the operating revenue decline, The Daily Telegraph's market share of national quality newspaper advertising actually increased in 2002 by 1 per cent."

Operating profit for 2002 was £32.6m, up from £19.1m in 2001, partly as a result of savings in newsprint and pay-roll expenses. The cover price of The Telegraph was raised in September 2001 and September 2002.