Independent suffers biggest fall after cutting overseas edition and bulks

The Independent suffered the biggest decline in circulation of any national newspaper in October, recording monthly and annual sales falls of more than a quarter, following a decision to drop international copies and cut back bulks. Significant year-on-year circulation falls were also recorded by the Financial Times, the Guardian and the Times in October. Alexander Lebedev's daily title reported month-on-month fall in circulation of 24% to 133,449 copies, a 26.84% year-on-year fall, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures released on Friday. Last month the Independent announced that it is halting its international distribution - 23,558 copies for the Independent and 27,597 for the Independent on Sunday – and replacing this with a new subscription service. The publisher is also in the process of stripping out almost 70,000 bulks, which are delivered for a nominal sum to gyms, rail stations and airlines, and transferring them to cut-price stablemate the i. The Independent will keep about 10,000 of the 83,159 it distributes at the request of companies such as British Airways. It distributed an average of 56,214 copies a day in October according to ABC. Circulation of the i increased by 14.68% month-on-month to 211,467, thanks to a boost in bulks to 32,324. The Financial Times recorded a year-on-year fall of 14.14%, to 345,077, although on a month-on-month basis it increased sales by 0.14%. In October the Times reported a 12.92% year-on-year fall to 417,197, a 2.88% month-on-month fall. The Guardian, publisher of MediaGuardian, reported a 16.6% year-on-year fall to 230,541. Circulation fell 0.87% month-on-month in October, the first full month since the Guardian increased the cover price of its weekday and Saturday editions to £1.20 and £2.10, respectively. Year-on-year comparison for the Guardian's year-headline circulation was adversely affected by a decision to stop publishing international editions. The Daily Telegraph was the best performer among the quality daily titles with sales declining by 7.8% year-on-year to 603,901, a 0.54% decrease month-on-month. Elsewhere, the Daily Mail managed a creditable performance in a perennially declining market with year-on-year sales down 6.15% to 1,998,363. This represents a month-on-month fall of 0.52%. The best performer on a year-by-year basis among the national dailies was the Daily Express, which recorded a fall of 4.38% to 614,534. On a month-on-month basis this was a 0.5% fall. Rupert Murdoch's Sun was the best month-on-month performer among tabloid titles, recording a circulation decline of 0.36% to 2,715,473. On a year-on-year basis sales fell 6.5%. Richard Desmond's Daily Star suffered the biggest fall among the tabloids with circulation down 16.99% year-on-year to 658,690. On a month-on-month basis sales fell 3.31%. The Daily Mirror fell 7.98% year-on-year to 1,118,120, a 2.24% fall month-on-month. The Scotsman fell 9.49% to 38,787 year-on-year, a 1.63% month-on-month decline. Daily Telegraph Headline circulation: 603,901 Month-on-month change: -0.54% Year-on-year change: -7.80% Overseas: 17,976 The Times Headline circulation: 417,197 Month-on-month change: -2.88% Year-on-year change: -12.92% UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 393,155 Overseas: 24,041 Financial Times Headline circulation: 345,077 Month-on-month change: +0.14% Year-on-year change: -14.14% UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 72,392 (20.9% of total) Overseas: 238,410 The Guardian Headline circulation: 230,541 Month-on-month change: -0.87% Year-on-year change: -16.60% i Headline circulation: 211,467 Month-on-month change: +14.68% The Independent Headline circulation: 133,449 Month-on-month change: -26.60% Year-on-year change: -26.84% UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 76,237 (57%) Overseas: 998 Daily Mail Headline circulation: 1,998,363 Month-on-month change: -0.52% Year-on-year change: -6.15% UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 1,766,554 (88.4% of total) Overseas: 113,147 The Sun Headline circulation: 2,715,473 Month-on-month change: -0.36% Year-on-year change: -6.50% Overseas: 43,939 Daily Express Headline circulation: 614,534 Month-on-month change: -0.50% Year-on-year change: -4.38% Overseas: 30,694 Daily Mirror Headline circulation: 1,118,120 Month-on-month change: -2.24% Year-on-year change: -7.98% Overseas: 44,859 Daily Star Headline circulation: 658,690 Month-on-month change: -3.31% Year-on-year change: -16.99% Overseas: 15,083 Daily Record Headline circulation: 293,091 Month-on-month change: 1.65% Year-on-year change: -8.62% UK and Ireland paid-for circulation: 277,099 (94.54% of total) Overseas: 14,143 Headline circulation includes lesser rate sales, subscriptions, bulks – copies sold to airlines, rail companies, hotels and gyms for a nominal fee and given free to the public – and distribution in Ireland and overseas. UK and Ireland paid-for circulation excludes bulks and overseas distribution; where this figure is not given, bulks and overseas distribution account for less than 5% of total circulation • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook .