Red ink for APN but billboard business looks good

Tim Burrowes

August 18, 2011 2:18

Media company APN has today revealed a poor set of annual financial numbers with its outdoor business the only significant bright spot.

By all measurements, the company saw a big drop in profits compared to the previous year. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) profits were down by 22% from $108.6m to $85m. Earnings before interest and tax were down by 24% to $66.5m. And net profit after tax was down 46% from $40m to $21.8m.

The worst figure was for net proft after exceptional items had been taken into account – the company reported a loss of $98.3m. This was mainly because of writing down the value of its NZ mastheads.

The company, which has significant businesses in both Australia and New Zealand, blamed “weak retail markets and natural disasters”.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.