Irish Times back in profit

The Irish Times Ltd, publisher of The Irish Times, has reported a pre-tax profit of €8.5m for the year to the end of December 2003 compared to a loss of €2.8m in 2002.

Turnover was flat at €95m. The company put this down to a soft advertising market in the first half of the year.

Operating costs fell by just under €10m, reflecting for the first time the full impact of the restructuring undertaken in 2002.

The operating loss of €3.3m recorded in 2002 was reversed, with the company making operating profits of €7m last year.