Media group DC Thomson, publisher of the Aberdeen P&J, Sunday Post, Dundee Courier and the Beano, said the impact of rising inflation was beginning to impact on the business as it ended its financial year.

The Dundee-based company, which also has interests in radio, magazines and genealogy sites, said pre-tax profit for the 12 months to the end of March 2022 fell to £7.3m against a record £338.7m in 2021 which was boosted by a sharp uplift in external investments. It made a £180m loss in the previous year on a fall in its investments.

Total revenue came in at £174.1m compared to £160.2m in the previous period, while trading revenue was up £10.7m to £156.4m.

The 1,600-employee company said the increase in revenue reflected the recovery from Covid disruption and new digital streams, but it also acknowledged that rising IT and raw material costs were making an impact and had eroded margins.

Falling sales of its newsstand print titles was offset by an increase in digital subscriptions.

The directors shared a dividend £558,000, almost the same as the previous year.

The reporting period took in the early weeks of the Ukraine war but preceded the energy and cost of living crisis.