Fairfax Media, publisher of the Australian Financial Review and the Sydney Morning Herald, has written down the value of its Australian and New Zealand titles by almost A$2.5 billion (€2.1 billion) after a further sharp decline in advertising revenues and a record annual loss.

Fairfax said group revenues in the first weeks of its new financial year were tracking 10 per cent below the previous year due to tough economic conditions and “ongoing structural changes” in the newspaper industry.

In the year to June 24th, Fairfax reported a loss after significant items and tax of A$2.73 billion, against a loss of A$390 million a year earlier.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell to A$506 million. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012)