Daily Mail and General Trust Plc reported a profit for the fiscal first half of the year, due to cutting costs in its newspaper unit and asset sales, Bloomberg reported today.

The publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper's net income in the six months up to April 4 was £92.7 million, compared to a loss of £172.9 million in the first half of last year, the company announced in a statement. Adjusted operating profit was £144 million, which beat market expectations of £142 million, the Irish Times noted.

Image: the Daily Mail
The increase is also partly due to improving advertising trends in Britain, which is hoped will lead to growth in the second half.

"Whilst we remain cautious about the outlook, particularly in the UK, we are increasingly well positioned to weather current economic uncertainties and to take advantage of improved conditions as they materialise," the company stated, according to the Irish Times.

In the six month period, the company has cut 680 jobs, in addition to the 2,200 it cut the previous year, Telegraph.co.uk reported. It also closed its Teletext service, freesheet London Lite and its printing press in Plymouth.

DMGT publishes about 100 regional newspapers, provides financial information and creates events.