Fairfax Media Ltd, the Sydney based publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald, posted a profit in the first half after a long time. Also the publisher reported a growth of 2.5% in its advertising revenue in the first six months of the year while comparing with the same period previous year. This growth in the advertising revenue is for the first time in the history of the company.

However the profit in the first half was mainly attributable to the lower costs and growth at company's digital business.

Fairfax, Australia's second largest newspaper publisher, posted the net income of A$143.5 million in the first half ended December 2009, while in the same period last year the company posted a loss of A$375.6 million. The net income in the first half surprised market analysts as they were expecting a net income of A$123.7 million for the first half.

The total revenue in the first half was reported to A$1.26 billion, decreasing by 9.2% while in the same period last year revenue was posted A$ 1.4 billion. In the period of the first six months EBITDA grew by 10.8% and was posted to A$323.4 million.

According to the company officials, all areas of the company saw revenue and profit gains in the first half of 2010. Fairfax now expects a profitable second half of FY 2010.