LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - British newspaper publisher Reach said on Monday it had seen a strong recovery in digital advertising in the third quarter, resulting in a year-on-year revenue decline for the quarter of 15.0% compared to a 27.5% drop in the second.

The publisher of the Daily Mirror and Daily Express reported statutory operating profit of 28.9 million pounds ($36.9 million) for the first half against 63.7 million pounds for the same period a year ago.

($1 = 0.7828 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)