The Irish Times was the only daily newspaper in the Republic to increase sales in the second half of 2003 compared with the equivalent six months the previous year, according to the latest circulation figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

The figures, which were released yesterday, show that average net sales of The Irish Times rose from 114,537 in the six months ending December 2002 to 115,502 at the end of December 2003, an increase of 965 copies.

This 0.8 per cent increase compares to circulation falls of 4.9 per cent, or 8,236, at the Irish Independent and 8.1 per cent, or 5,216, at the Irish Examiner.

Sales of the Irish Independent declined from 169,533 copies to 161,297 and the Irish Examiner from 64,628 to 59,412.

The managing director of the Irish Times Ltd, Ms Maeve Donovan, said: "We are very pleased to be the only daily newspaper in the Republic to have increased our circulation against the comparable period in 2002.

"This reflects the company's renewed investment in the newspaper following the restructuring in 2002.

"Over many years we have created a world-class newspaper brand and as a result have been rewarded with an intensely loyal readership."

She added: "This year we are continuing to expand our content, most recently with the launch of Tuesday's health supplement, which is receiving the wholehearted support of both readers and advertisers."

The latest figures show that 98.2 per cent of copies of The Irish Times are actively purchased by readers at full price, significantly ahead of 87.8 per cent for the Irish Independent and 91.7 per cent for the Irish Examiner.

Comparing the six months ending December 2003 with the previous six months ending June 2003, The Irish Times figures showed a decline of 1.8 per cent - down from 117,565.

Sales of the Irish Independent at the end of December 2003 were down 0.7 per cent or 1,166 on the 162,463 recorded at the end of June 2003 while sales of the Irish Examiner fell by 1.4 per cent or 817 in the same period.

However, comparisons between any six-month period and the equivalent period in the previous year are regarded as the most valid.

For the six months ending December 2003 compared to the equivalent six months in 2002, the Evening Herald was down by 7.6 per cent from 104,137 to 96,203. The weekend edition of the Herald is reported separately and its sales dropped 11 per cent from 67,233 to 59,851 in the same period.

Sales for Cork's Evening Echo dropped by 0.9 per cent, from 27,993 to 27,732.

In the fiercely competitive Sunday market, the biggest selling newspaper, the Sunday Independent, saw sales for the six months ending December 2003 compared with the second half of 2002 declining by 4.2 per cent (from 305,182 to 292,499).

Sales of the Sunday Independent for the six months ending December 2003 compared to the six months ending June 2003 slipped by 0.8 per cent, from 294,739 to 292,499.

Sales for the same periods of another Independent News & Media title, the Sunday World, rose by 0.7 per cent from 283,612 to 285,503 and by 2.5 per cent from 278,613 to 285,503.

The Sunday World figures refer to sales in the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Ireland on Sunday, published by Associated Newspapers Ireland, saw its recent sales increases levelling off.

Comparing the six months ending December 2003 with the second half of 2002, sales were up 5.8 per cent (from 151,630 to 160,493).

But comparing the final six months of 2003 with the first half of the year, sales dropped by 4.5 per cent (from 167,996 to 160,493).

In a statement, Mr Martin Clarke, editor-in-chief of Ireland On Sunday, claimed that "ducking and diving" by Independent News & Media over the bulk sales issue had to stop.

"You would need a degree in maths to understand the Sunday Independent's circulation certificate and, even then, it is impossible to be sure exactly where they sold copies and how many.

"Those who seek to disguise their decline with dodgy sales in obscure countries must stand up and be counted - literally," Mr Clarke said.

The Sunday Tribune was virtually unchanged (up 0.1 per cent) with sales of 83,445 for the six months ending December 2003 compared to 83,328 for the second half of 2002.

Sales for the second half of 2003 were up 4.2 per cent on the first six months of that year.

Sales of the Sunday Business Post, for the six months ending December 2003 compared with the second half of of 2002, were up 0.1 per cent from 48,949 to 49,007.

The circulation figures for the last six months of 2003 compared with the first six months show a drop of 5 per cent to 49,007 newspapers.