Tribune Newspapers Plc, the publisher of the Sunday Tribune, has eliminated €2m from the newspaper's cost base as a response to the deep downturn in newspaper advertising in the second half of last year, according to its annual accounts.

The accounts, sent to shareholders this week, show a gross profit of €766,000 for the year 2008 and an operating loss of €2.7m. The company's turnover came in at €9.6m, down 16% on the previous year's €11.4m.

Chairman of the company Gordon Colleary said: "In November/December, the management team implemented a major cost-cutting plan which took over €2m out of the cost base. This was an exceptional achievement and the Sunday Tribune's cost base is the lowest of any national newspaper."

The cost base continued to be tightly managed, he said.

The main shareholders in Tribune Newspapers are Independent News & Media (IN&M) with a 29.9% stake, Colleary himself who holds a 32.83% stake and businessman and Glen Dimplex director Martin Naughton who holds an 8.33% stake.