LONDON (ShareCast) - European newspaper publisher Mecom narrowed its losses for the half year thanks to recent acquisitions.

The acquisitions of Berliner Verlag and Wegener helped revenues surge 354% to £770m. On a like-for-like basis however, revenue was flat.

Pre-tax losses narrowed to £19.7m from £24.6m in the same period last year.

“The combined businesses are performing well together in the face of a less favourable economic climate and our newspapers remain stable and robust franchises. Cost management and business restructuring will continue to play a fundamental part in countering advertising decline,” said chairman David Montgomery.

The group said advertising revenue fell 2% to £401m, while circulation of its publications rose 3% to £261m. Other revenues rose 1% to £108m and digital revenue jumped 36% to £32m.

“The group's focus is to increase momentum towards a fully fledged content and consumer business generating more revenue from each customer than solely the price of a newspaper or a single advertisement,” said the group.

“With the growth of our Digital businesses our reach is now extending well beyond our traditional audience,” it added.

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