GUARDIAN HIT BY LOSSES

The group, which owns The Guardian and The Observer, made a pre-tax loss of £89million in the year to the end of March, against a profit of £306million previously when it made a £300million gain on selling a stake in its AutoTrader business.

Guardian News & Media (GNM), which takes in the national papers, saw losses balloon from £26.4million to £36.8million, hit by an advertising downturn. GMG Regional Media, which includes the Manchester Evening News, saw profits plunge from £14.3million to just £500,000 – hit by a 30 per cent slump in classified advertising.

Its radio division, home to Smooth and Real Radio, moved from a small profit to a loss of £6.6million.

In its annual report it says its ownership under the Scott Trust enables its to “invest in the future and security of the Guardian’s independent, liberal journalism”. But the group is looking to cut 50 journalist’s jobs at GNM and its regional arm has announced 300 job losses.