APN News & Media, in which Independent News & Media holds a 39.1 per cent stake, reported a full-year loss after an advertising slump forced it to write down the value of some assets.
The Sydney-based media company which publishes more than 100 newspapers in Australia and New Zealand reported a net loss of A$24 million ($16 million) in the year ended December 31st, from a profit of A$167.4 million, a year earlier.
Sales fell 6.5 per cent and A$164.1 million of one-time charges were incurred, mostly on assets acquired in the 2001 purchase of Wilson & Horton in New Zealand, APN said.
The deepening global financial crisis has forced publishers including Fairfax Media and the
New York Timesto write down the value of some newspapers as advertising spending slows.
The outlook for the year "remains challenging" and is "extremely difficult" to forecast, Sydney-based APN said.
"The past year produced the most challenging trading that APN has faced as a listed company," chief executive officer Brendan Hopkins said in the statement. "This resulted in a number of national advertisers electing not to proceed with planned campaigns."
The stock fell to an all-time low of A$1.075 during intraday trading yesterday.
For the full year, profit before exceptional items totalled A$140.1 million, compared with A$169.5 million a year earlier. APN expects full-year net income of around A$120 million, inline with analyst forecasts, it said.
Bloomberg