NEWSPAFER Publishing, the publishers of the Independent and the Independent on Sunday, lost £18.9 million sterling last year and losses this year are expected to be in the order of £7 million sterling.

The figures compare with losses of more than £50 million sterling in the previous 15-month period. Independent Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) each own 43 per cent of the loss-making publishing group.

Details of the losses came in MGN's results for the year to the end of December, in which MGN chief executive Mr David Montgomery said that its share of the Newspaper Publishing (NP) losses for 1995 would be £7.4 million sterling.

Independent began to equity account its stake in NP from June 1995 when it increased its stake from 29.9 per cent to 43 per cent.

Sources have indicated that NP losses in the first half of the year were heavier than in the second half because a price increase came into effect in the second half.

Independent has already indicated that its share of NP losses for 1995 would be at most £4 million. Independent initially took a 29 per cent stake in Newspaper Publishing in 1994 for £23.4 million sterling and increased this stake to 43 per cent in early 1995 at a further cost of £9 million sterling.

At the same time, Independent increased its loan guarantees to NP from £9 million to £12 million sterling.

Yesterday, Mr Montgomery said NP losses were lower last year, despite the higher cost of newsprint. "Circulation remained stable and was encouraging for both the Independent titles. The outlook for the year ahead remains promising," he stated.

Mr Montgomery added that losses at NP in the current year would be in the order of £7 million sterling, indicating that MGN and Independent would account losses of £3 million sterling each in respect of their 43 per cent stakes.

Analysts expect NP to break even in 1997, benefiting from sharing facilities with other titles at MGN's Docklands headquarters and lower staff costs.

More than 40 journalistic jobs were lost earlier this year in the latest stage of NP's restructuring.