TRINITY Mirror, the parent company of Journal and Chronicle publisher ncjMedia, today announced a rise in half-yearly profits.

The publisher’s operating profits jumped by 11.5% to £52.5m and earnings per share rose by 23.7% to 14.6p, despite the difficult economic climate causing a 4% fall in revenues to £356m in the six months to July 1.

Chairman David Grigson said: “We increased the profitability of our core print assets and we are continuing to invest in the technology led transformation of our publishing capabilities and in new products and services across multiple digital channels.

"Although the trading environment is expected to remain difficult, the board anticipates that through strong operational management and the benefit of a fall in newsprint prices for the second half, we will deliver an outcome for 2012 which will be ahead of current expectations.”

The group publishes the Daily and Sunday Mirror and The People, in addition to a stable of regional newspapers and news websites.