Südostschweiz with more profit

Regional press The Südostschweiz (SO) media group in Chur grew in the 2002 financial year, with total sales increasing by 1.8 percent to 140.6 million francs and profits by 2.8 percent to 5.8 million francs. However, the group had to cope with setbacks in the advertising business. The newspaper publisher SO Presse AG recorded an eleven percent drop in sales, SO Publicitas AG a 15 percent drop. Income from the subscription and retail sales business remained at the previous year's level, while the printing business grew by 10 percent. In total, the Group employed 904 people last year, 146 more than in the previous year.