The sales uplift given to The Independent by its compact version is showing no sign of peaking.
Latest ABC figures for February show that The Independent was up 15.2 per cent on the same month last year.
It is the fifth month in a row that the paper has grown sales since the compact launched at the end of September.
Although The Times, which launched its compact in November, is showing a year-on-year fall, its compact version is said too have increased weekly sales by about 45,000.
It is not difficult to see where the extra sales are coming from. The Guardian, which has ruled out a tabloid version on both editorial and economic grounds, is taking a battering.
Sales in February dropped to 369,726 – a fall of more than 10 per cent on the same month last year.
The Daily Telegraph, still in ownership limbo, was down to 906,317 in February. But the Daily Star is going in the other direction. Last month it outsold The Daily Telegraph by hitting sales of 909,291 and is rumoured this month to be outselling the Daily Express.
The Financial Times showed some signs of recovery with the best monthonmonth rise among the quality dailies of 3.9 per cent.
The News of the World continues to dominate the popular Sunday market and was the only title in its sector to show a month-on-month rise. Scotland on Sunday and The Business are the only quality Sundays to show an increase year-on-year for the six months to the end of February, compared to 2003.
Total sales of national daily titles have dropped by nearly 3 per cent and Sundays by 1.8 per cent over the same period.
Click here for circulation figures
By Jon Slattery
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