APN Media, which owns the New Zealand Herald, has managed to increase its half year profit as it cut costs in the face of lower advertising sales.
The Australian-owned media company made a profit of just over $AUS16 million in the 6 months ended June, up $1 million on the same period last year.
However, the company says the advertising market remained challenging, with New Zealand publishing revenues falling 8% and revenues down 14% in Australia.
On a brighter note, APN's grabone platform in New Zealand grew revenues by more than quarter to $8 million and it claims to have 80% of the group buying market.
APN has also managed to almost halve its debt to $50 million and says it's on track to save $35 million in costs by the end of the year.
