Oriental Press Group, which publishes the Chinese-language Oriental Daily News, says interim profit rose 433 per cent to $160.3 million, boosted by an increase in advertising revenue as a result of a price war in May.
Turnover for the six months to September 30 was $913.73 million, up 16.2 per cent from the same time last year. Earnings per share were 11 cents, up from the previous 2.1 cents.
An interim dividend of five cents will be paid, up from three cents.
The company also publishes Eastweek weekly magazine, Oriental Sunday, East Touch and the Sun Racing Journal.
It said Oriental Daily News reported a marked increase in the volume of advertisements since it lowered the cover price to $2 from $5 in May. Its average readership of 1.96 million was 233,000 more than that of the second leading newspaper, it said.