Times and Sunday Times cut annual losses to £11.6 million

The Times and the Sunday Times have reduced their losses by almost 75 per cent in a year, according to new accounts filed at Companies House.

Times Newspapers Limited, the parent company for the two titles, made a pre-tax loss of £11.6 million in the year to July 2011, a significant improvement on the £45 million loss reported in the previous year, the new accounts reveal.

Revenue for the year was up 2.3 per cent at £401.7 million, helped by cover price rises. The cost of sales was significantly lower than the previous year as a result of decreased editorial spending and lower marketing costs.

According to the accounts, the number of editorial staff on the Times and Sunday Times fell from 608 in 2010 to 542 last year.

Meanwhile, turnover at News Group Newspapers, which publishes The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, was stable at £653.6 million.

The accounts are made up to 3 July 2011, just days before the Guardian's story on phone hacking that led to the closure of the News of the World.

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