A tabloid price war and the general slump in advertising have bitten deep into publisher Trinity Mirror's profits.

The company, whose 250 titles include the Daily Mirror and Metro newspapers, reported modest falls in sales and earnings, and said that national advertising revenues were down 8.4% in the six months to end-June.

But pre-tax profits, at �78.4m, were still above analysts' expectations of about �74.7m..

And the firm said that its full year strategy remained on track, despite there being no prospect of a recovery in the advertising market in the remainder of the year.

Modest optimism

The group remained upbeat about its performance.

Chairman Sir Victor Blank said: "Against a backdrop of difficult economic circumstances, we have further demonstrated the strength of our business".

The company has continued to invest in its regional operations, and said it was spending an extra �20m on marketing this year.

Trinity Mirror relaunched its Daily Mirror newspaper in April and said its current price war with rival The Sun has cost �6.5m to so far, with further costs expected.