Underlying^† circulation revenues fell by 2% to £351 million. Underlying^† advertising revenues were up 7% at £347 million, driven by a strong performance by Metro in particular. Underlying^† display advertising was up 7% to £283 million. Retail, our largest category, performed particularly strongly, up 14%, but there was good growth from most other categories. Underlying^† classified advertising fell by just 1% to £52 million. Underlying^† digital revenue from the newspaper titles' companion sites increased by 54% to £12 million.

The Daily Mail increased its share of the national daily newspaper market by 1% to 21%, which represented a record percentage share during a period of sustained price discounting by a number of publishers. Daily circulation averaged 2,120,000 copies, which was only 2% down year on year compared to a contraction in the overall market, excluding the Daily Mail, of 6%.

The Mail on Sunday's average circulation for the year was 1,987,000 copies which, at 4% down year on year, comfortably outperformed the rest of the Sunday market decline of 8%. The Mail on Sunday's share of the total market increased to a new high of 19%. In January The Mail on Sunday's format was changed to provide a new Review newspaper supplement and a redesigned LIVE magazine. These changes have been well received by readers and advertisers. The Mail on Sunday's other magazine supplement, YOU, won 'Supplement of the Year' at the British Press Awards for an unprecedented third successive year.

Although there were no cover price rises, total revenues for the combined national titles were flat year on year. Despite a contraction in combined Display and Classified advertising revenues during October to December 2009, revenues increased annually by 2% with particularly strong growth in the second half of the year. The benefit of lower newsprint prices and further reductions in the cost base resulted in a 20% rise in operating profit* for the two national titles with the Daily Mail recording its highest ever profit whilst profitability of The Mail on Sunday more than doubled.

The Mail Digital division, which hosts the newspapers' companion websites, had another strong year of growth, recording a 57% improvement in advertising revenue. There was a significant rise in traffic to its primary site, Mail Online, thereby securing it as the UK's most popular 'newspaper' website with a daily average of 1.13 million unique visitors in September, up 71% year-on-year. On a global basis traffic to Mail Online grew to 47 million unique visitors during the same month, making it the world's second largest English language online newspaper.

The Free Newspaper division experienced a strong recovery this year. This was achieved through a combination of the closure of London Lite, cost control and record revenues. Metro maintained its daily circulation base at 1,331,000 (down less than 1% year on year) and experienced advertising revenue growth of 21%. Costs, excluding those directly related to increased paginations, increased by only 1% year on year. In March, Metro renewed its agreement to distribute in London Underground stations for a further seven and a half years. Traffic to Metro.co.uk has seen strong growth during the year following a redesign of the site, up 163% to an average of 2.8m UK unique visitor per month in the last quarter. Digital revenue grew by 68% in the year.

Metro Ireland, in which Associated held a 45% share, merged in January with Herald AM, owned by Independent News and Media, following clearance from the Irish Competition Authority. Associated holds 33% of the new operation, Metro Herald, and our share of losses on the product has reduced by 83% this year with revenue growth of 29% year on year. 7Days in Dubai saw a recovery in revenues, up 16% year on year for the full year, but stronger later in the year, up 58% in the final six months.

Mail Today, the Delhi-based daily newspaper, in which Associated holds a 26% interest, has grown its circulation by 71% since the beginning of 2010, making it the fastest growing newspaper in its market. Although still loss-making, this has already had a clear impact on revenues which have grown by over 42% year-on-year in the last 6 months. The strategy of investment in circulation growth will continue for 2010/11.

Changes to the printing requirements in the South West led to the closure of our print centre in Plymouth. Some production was transferred to the four remaining sites. Harmsworth Printing continuously looks for opportunities for further operational efficiencies.

Revenue across the portfolio of digital companies was up 1% year on year to £95 million with particularly strong growth in the Property sector. The digital only businesses grew profit* by £5 million to £6 million and improved their margin* whilst continuing to invest in their products and marketing across all businesses and supporting international expansion in the Jobs sector.

During the final quarter, the Associated Northcliffe Digital central functions were integrated with A&N Media, producing significant cost savings. The digital only businesses now report directly into A&N Media and head office support functions are leveraged across all A&N Media businesses.

The flagship recruitment portal, Jobsite, maintained its commitment to invest in brand building with multiple TV campaigns and sponsorship of Portsmouth FC, resulting in record traffic and uploaded CVs. The decline in vacancy volumes experienced during the prior year reversed with consistent growth throughout the year, and also a marked increase in client numbers. The number of vacancies advertised in September was 24% higher than the previous year, and this was reflected in sustained revenue and profit delivery for the UK digital recruitment division. Considerable strategic investment was incurred in rolling out the international expansion plans for some of the key specialist recruitment businesses. Broadbean, a leading multi-poster of vacancies and tracking information for recruiters, expanded its interests into both the US and Europe. Oilcareers, a leading job-board in the Energy sector, also opened offices in the US and is exploring opportunities in the Middle East.

The Digital Property Group ('TDPG ') incorporating FindaProperty.com and Primelocation.com, continues to provide a distinct and differentiated offering, delivering substantial value to our customers through increased buyer leads and seller instructions. Despite a difficult property market, revenues grew by 16% and margins* remained stable at 17%. In addition, TDPG grew the number of estate agent branches using its services by 29%. In September, 7.6 million home searches used TDPG 's websites, a 14% increase on last year. January saw the acquisition of 50% of Globrix.com, the UK's largest free to list property portal, extending the reach of TDPG . As part of this acquisition, we entered into a joint venture with its founders to start up a software development company, Artirix. Artirix supplies services to the Globrix business and also has contracts with media companies in Ireland and in the US.

The loss-making Teletext Information Services business, provided under the terms of the public teletext licence, was closed in December 2009. The continuing business, Teletext Holidays, operates as an aggregator within the travel sector and has gone from strength to strength, despite challenging market conditions with the value of UK spend on foreign holiday travel falling by 12%. Teletext Holidays reported online profit* growth of 18% driven primarily by online revenue increases in both yield (23%) and volume (9%). At Villarenters online, the holiday villa letting portal, new management took over from the outgoing founders. Trading was up with the conversion rate on the new Villarenters.com website improving by 6% and an increase in bookable properties of 38%.

The profitable elements of Teletext TV services have been retained, operating as A&N Media Mobile and TV. This business has core expertise in monetising mobile channels, including SMS, and has supported the extension of our brands via mobile services, with particular focus on launching a series of iPhone apps, having achieved one million downloads by the year end.

The Motors Digital Division continued to grow, with underlying^† revenues up 9% year on year, and has built market share to move ahead of eBay Motors and establish itself as a clear number two to Autotrader. Dealer numbers were up 5% and vehicle numbers increased by 19%. The signing of partnership agreements with four regional newspaper groups at the beginning of 2009/10 is starting to contribute to overall growth. More strategic partnerships are planned. The Software and Services offerings have been re-launched, with dedicated sales teams now focusing on growing this part of the business. The business has been restructured under a new leadership team which launched a new Motors.co.uk brand and website, resulting in an 11% year on year growth in reach of online used car searches from 16.9% to 18.7%.

It is still very difficult to predict future revenue trends; however, the strength of our key brands, efficiency programme, fast growing digital businesses and focused cost control, leave Associated well placed to capitalise on any further recovery in the economy. It is, however, facing upward pressure on newsprint prices. Although cautious about the revenue outlook for 2011, we will continue to seek out opportunities to leverage our brands and deliver an excellent customer experience.