Regional publisher Newsquest has reported a pre-tax profit of £108m for 2018, up from a loss of £213m the year before, new accounts show.

The company reported turnover of £197.3m last year, up from £130.4m the year before but down from £107.8m on a like-for-like basis, according to full-year accounts for Newsquest Media Group on Companies House.

Newsquest group finance director Paul Hunter wrote in a strategic report, published along with the accounts, that the group had closed 16 free newspapers that were “no longer viable” in 2018.