The Australian has lifted its total paid sales, showing resilience in a tough operating market to be the country's best performing major newspaper for the   December quarter.
Audit Bureau of Circulation figures reveal the News Corporation publication shed just 2.6 per cent of its Monday to Friday print circulation to 102,068 compared to the same period in 2014.
"But with strong growth in digital sales, The Australian's total paid sales grew 2.5 per cent to 168,678. Digital sales jumped 14.1 per cent over the period to 75,014. 
The Weekend Australian also performed strongly, with average net paid print sales dipping by just 1.2 per cent to 224,691, and total sales slipping by less than 1 per cent to 274,488.
This compares with the newspaper's major national rival, Fairfax Media's The Australian Financial Review, which saw paid print sales plunge by 10.5 per cent to 51,425, while the weekend edition was off by 8 per cent to 58,523.
At its current trajectory, The Financial Review's circulation could fall below the 50,000 mark in the next survey.
"The Australian's   December circulation results were outstanding, and reinforce the benefits to our audience of continued investment in quality journalism across all content categories and form factors," The Australian chief executive Nicholas Gray said.
"In particular, we are happy to see continued positive momentum resulting from a focus on great national affairs coverage, deep investigative reporting, an expanded business offering (including the best of The Wall Street Journal and Business Spectator) and excellent weekend supplements." The Daily Telegraph, published by News, recorded a 6.5 per cent drop in paid print sales to 255,448, while the Saturday edition fell by 6.3 per cent to 257,943. The Sunday Telegraph shed 7.5 per cent of its paid print sales, although its circulation of 452,377 was the biggest in the country.
Rival metropolitan newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald saw net paid print sales fall by a more severe 9.1 per cent to 104,155, while the Saturday edition slipped by 7.6 per cent to 194,207 sales. The Sun-Herald plunged by 11.7 per cent to 200,851.
News's Herald Sun in Victoria held the biggest Monday to Friday circulation with 363,384 average paid print sales, which was down 6.7 per cent year-on-year.
The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun all saw circulation growth for the period compared with the   September quarter.
The Paris terrorist attacks in   November helped boost sales, while   October featured the NRL and AFL grand finals, and The Rugby World Cup. The ABC circulation figures were released a day after the Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (EMMA) readership figures, which showed News Corp reached more than 15.5 million Australians, or 86 per cent of the population.
News chief executive Peter Tonagh said the measurement systems showed the company's strategy was working.
"When it comes to print, our investment in our content, and our promotion and distribution, is working - the rate of decline in our print circulation has decreased markedly over the past year, and we are performing significantly better than our competitors, " he said."Meanwhile, our digital subscriptions continue to go from strength to strength. The Herald Sun now has almost 67,000 digital subscribers, which is up 35 per cent on the same time a year ago, and The Australian now has over 75,000 digital subscribers."