Trader Media Group has reported a 6% year-on-year rise in pre-tax profits to £16.9m in the six months to 30 September, with digital growth offsetting a more than 30% decline in sales of Auto Trader magazine.
TMG said it has all but left behind its historic print business as a successful transition of the brand means that almost 90% of profits now come from digital operations.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose slightly year on year to £70.7m, with the digital proportion of those profits climbing 6% to £62.4m – 88% of the total.
TMG, which is jointly owned by MediaGuardian publisher Guardian Media Group and private equity company Apax, grew operating cash flow by just more than £1m year on year to £67.6m.
Digital revenues grew 4% year on year to £106.4m, more than 83% of the total underlying revenue of £127.7m for the six month period. Total revenues fell 3.7% year on year.
The rise of digital revenues almost offset a fall of about 40% in TMG's magazine publishing division, home to titles including Auto Trader.
Auto Trader's weekly circulation fell from 124,000 in September last year to 85,000 at the same point this year, a fall of more than 31%.
"Despite the current economic climate our digital activities continue to demonstrate growth," said Zillah Byng-Maddick, the chief executive of TMG.
The company said 20% of users now access TMG's websites from portable devices such as mobiles and tablets.
Finance costs at the heavily leveraged group fell to £43.2m, down from £45.9m for the same period last year.
Net debt fell £27.7m between April and the end of September to £637m.
"The group remains highly cash generative," said Byng-Maddick. "Whilst we are not immune to the impact of the economic downturn, we remain confident that our continued focus on the customer, and delivering product innovation and flexibility to them will drive further growth."
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook .
