Newsquest UK, the subsidiary of US media giant Gannett and the owner of The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times newspapers, has unveiled pre-tax profits of £89m for last year, compared with £101.9m the year before.

Newsquest UK, the subsidiary of US media giant Gannett and the owner of The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times newspapers, has unveiled pre-tax profits of £89m for last year, compared with £101.9m the year before.

The accounts, which were filed recently at Companies House, also note that all of Newsquest's post-tax profits - some £88.3m - were paid in the form of an interim dividend to parent Gannett, which is the largest news-paper publisher in the US.

Under the heading "Directors report", the accounts - which cover the full 2007 calendar year - note that the "directors are satisfied with the results and the prospects of the company".

In total, Newsquest owns 17 daily titles and almost 300 weekly newspapers in the UK.

Gannett, which also owns USA Today, last week reported a 36% decline in second-quarter earnings, as advertising sales in its publishing business fell 14%.

The group profit of $233m (£117m) compared with a profit of $366m (£184m) a year earlier.

Revenue fell 10%, to $1.7bn from $1.9bn, in the quarter, which ended on June 29.

The vast majority of lost revenue in the quarter stemmed from the 14% decline in advertising revenue in the company's publishing business.

Across the parent group, retail advertising declined 8%, and classified advertising fell 19% in the company's second quarter.