Independent News & Media Regulatory News (INM)

22 Dec 2006 07:01

Independent News & Media PLC22 December 2006 INDEPENDENT NEWS & MEDIA PLC 2006 FULL YEAR PRE-CLOSE TRADING UPDATE Ticker: (Reuters) INWS.I / INWS.L and (Bloomberg) INWS ID / INWS LN Dublin/ London - 22nd December 2006: Independent News & Media PLC ('INM' or the'Group'), a leading international media and communications group, today issuedits pre-close trading update for the year ended 31st December 2006. This update is intended to provide broad guidance on the Group's financial andoperating performance in 2006 and reflects the actual performance for the 11months ended 30th November 2006. INM's 2006 full year results are scheduled for release on 21st March 2007. SUMMARY HIGHLIGHTS - 2006: •Group newspaper circulation revenues forecast to be up by over 5%.* •Group newspaper advertising revenues forecast to be up by over 4%.* •Online developments continue to contribute to the overall advertising and classified performance. •Operating costs continue to be well managed globally and the Group is on-target to deliver a Group operating margin of 20% in 2006. •Recent acquisitions performing to plan. •Earnings (Adjusted EPS) expected to be ahead year-on-year by over 10% - in line with current market consensus forecasts. * in constant currency The Group has seen good underlying growth in advertising and circulationrevenues. This solid performance reflects the continued strength of the Group'smarket-leading positions in diverse and growing economies, and follows anequally strong performance in the same period in 2005. REVENUES Advertising The Group's advertising revenues continue to show growth across the major advertising categories of ROP, colour display, retail and classifieds. Newspaper advertising revenues for 2006 are expected to show underlying growth of over 4% - against strong comparators for the same period in 2005. In Ireland and South Africa, the strong 1st half revenue performance continued in the 2nd half. In the United Kingdom, the Group's National titles (The Independent/ Independent on Sunday) achieved growth year-on-year, in contrast to INM's peer group which is reporting general advertising declines with little discernable improvement. The Belfast division is also ahead of last year in the second half and improving further in the 4th quarter. Within Australasia, the New Zealand economy is showing early signs of recovery, whilst the Australian Regional newspaper division continues its strong trend. Online Online revenues continue to show strong double-digit advertising growth, particularly across the main classified pillars, complementing in-paper volumes. PropertyNews.com (acquired in May 2006), the largest property portal on the island of Ireland, continues to expand rapidly, while the Irish classified offering, Loadza.com, has been further augmented by the Q4 launch of LoadzaTravel.ie and LoadzaCars.ie. Similarly, the new Search4 and Worksearch online brands have been successfully launched in New Zealand and Australia respectively. Circulation The Group's circulation revenues are expected to be up by over 5% in constant currencies, based on underlying volume and price increases. The Group's most recently-launched titles Isolezwe and Daily Voice in South Africa, and the Herald on Sunday in New Zealand, are continuing their successful expansion, with sales volume continuing to grow strongly. The Group's free commuter title in Dublin, herald am, has outperformed its competition in the Dublin market, and will further expand its reach during 2007. OPERATING COSTS In 2006, the Group continued to make significant progress towards its goal ofbeing the low-cost operator, despite significant newsprint price increases of c.7% in its European operations. Moreover, the benefits of strong cost control andeffective restructuring should enable the Group to achieve a Group operatingmargin of 20% for 2006, in line with our previously stated target. GROUP DEVELOPMENTS - INM's Indian associate Jagran Prakashan Limited ('JPL') - publisher of India's largest selling newspaper, Dainik Jagran - has traded very well, with first-half (6-months to end-September) net profits up 244.3% on the back of very strong increases in circulation and advertising revenues. This strong performance follows the hugely successful IPO of JPL in February 2006, which more than doubled the value of INM's initial investment in JPL in 2005. Capitalising on the Indian economic boom, JPL has expanded into outdoor advertising during 2006. In a separate venture, INM, in conjunction with the Gupta family, secured eight radio licences in 2006 and expects to have these licences operational in 2007. - In September, the Group acquired 100% of Wholesale Newspaper Services ('WNS'), Northern Ireland's largest wholesale distributor of newspapers and magazines. This acquisition provides the Group with significant opportunities to expand its distribution business on the island of Ireland. - On 24th November, INM confirmed the termination of the Consortium's approach (which INM was party to) to the Board of APN News & Media Limited ('APN'), regarding a possible leveraged buy-out of the entire issued share capital of APN. However INM - in conjunction with APN - continues to examine the many opportunities in the Australian market with a view to maximising value for all INM shareholders. OUTLOOK The Group's Chief Executive Officer, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, stated: "INM's strong, diverse and sustainable media franchises - across publishing, online, radio and outdoor - continue to deliver superior performance and to differentiate the Group from its peers. "Another year of advertising growth, circulation growth, active product innovation, and a low-cost ethos have combined to ensure that INM is on-target to deliver double-digit earnings growth for 2006. The Group is extremely well positioned for continuing strong growth for the future, in line with current market expectations." Ends. Friday, 22nd December 2006 For further information, please contact: Gavin O'Reilly Chief Operating Officer +353 1 466 3200 Donal Buggy Chief Financial Officer +353 1 466 3200 +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Media | +------------------------+---------------------+-----------------------+ | | | | | Pat Walsh | Rory Godson | Paul Keary | | | | | | Murray Consultants | Powerscourt Media | Financial Dynamics | | (Dublin) | (London) | (New York) | | | | | | Tel: +353 1 498 0300 | Tel: +44 207 236 | Tel: +1 212 850 5600 | | | 5619 | | +------------------------+---------------------+-----------------------+ | | | | | Investors and Analysts | | | +------------------------+---------------------+-----------------------+ | | | | | Mark Kenny/ Jonathan | | | | Neilan | | | | | | | | K Capital Source | | | | (Dublin) | | | | | | | | Tel: +353 1 631 5500 | | | | | | | | Email: | | | | INM@kcapitalsource.com | | | +------------------------+---------------------+-----------------------+ INDEPENDENT NEWS & MEDIA PLC - CORPORATE PROFILE - Independent News & Media PLC ('INM') is a leading international newspaper andcommunications group, with its main interests in Australia, India, Ireland, NewZealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Spanning four continents and 21individual countries, INM has market-leading newspaper positions in Australia(regional), India, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. In the United Kingdom,it publishes the flagship national title, The Independent, as well as being thelargest newspaper group in Northern Ireland. Across these regions, the Group publishes over 175 newspaper and magazinetitles, delivering a combined weekly circulation of over 31 million copies witha weekly audience of over 100 million consumers and includes the world's largestread newspaper, Dainik Jagran, in India. The Group has established a strong andgrowing online presence, with over 70 editorial and classified sites. INM is the largest radio operator - 132 stations and an audience exceeding fivemillion people - and outdoor advertising operator in Australasia and also hasleading outdoor advertising positions in Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Indonesiaand across Africa. The Group has grown consistently over the last 15 years by building ageographically unique and diverse portfolio of market-leading brands, and todaymanages gross assets of €4.0 billion, revenue of €1.8 billion and employsapproximately 10,300 people worldwide. Further information is available on theGroup's website www.inmplc.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange