There are few reasons for celebration in the newspaper industry just now, especially in Ireland.
So it may not be so surprising that Independent News & Media (INM) and Northern & Shell are boasting about turning a profit at the Irish Daily Star.
A press release issued today begins: "At last some good news for the Irish newspapers sector..."
It goes on to record that their joint operation, Independent Star Ltd, made an operating profit of €4.3m (£3.8m) in the year up to 31 December 2010.
Then again, that represents a 10% year-on-year decline alongside a decline in total revenues of 5%.
It is also sobering to recall that the company closed the Irish Daily Star Sunday in January this year.
The company's managing director, Paul Cooke, spoke about 2010 being "a challenging year for Irish media" in claiming that his results "compare very favourably" with other Irish newspaper publishers.
The release mentions the fact that the Irish Times reported operating losses in 2010 of €633,341 last week. And the Dublin-based free, Metro Herald, also posted losses for last year of €630,458.
The Irish Daily Star sold an average of 87,121 copies a day in the first half of this year, down 7% on the same period the year before. That made it the third highest-selling daily paper in the Republic, after the Irish Independent and the Irish Times.
Sources: Nicola Watkins PR/Irish Times
