Independent News & Media this morning announced record interim results for the six months to the end of June. Pre-tax profits rose by 50% to €78.8m from €52.4m the same time last year while turnover from continuing operations was up 14% to €736.9m.
INM's operating profit was up 25.1%, which the company said was driven by improved performances in each of its five regions and resulted in a record group operating margin of 17.2%.
The group, which has operations in Ireland, the UK, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, said that advertising and circulation revenues were up 14.3% and 10.4% respectively.
First half turnover for INM's Irish operations increased by 7.5% to a record €189.6m. The company said this increase was driven by the continuing improvement in core advertising and circulation revenues in the main publishing division.
Irish operating profits grew by 8.5% from €37.7m in the first half of 2003 to a record €40.9m in 2004. Operating margins also improved, increasing from 21.4% to 21.6%.
INM said its Irish advertising revenues grew strongly in the first six months of the year by over 12%. Circulation revenues grew by 3.4%, reflecting the 'very successful' launch of the compact edition of the Irish Independent. Total readership of the Independent increased by 16.3% to 607,000 readers, according to recent JNRS readership figures.
The underlying cost base of the Irish group was substantially restructured and reduced with 208 redundancies made towards the end of the first half of the year in the company's main Abbey Street publishing operation.
INM's Australasia's operations, APN News and Media, reported record results, with operating profit before exceptionals up 19.5% to 125.4m Australian dollars for the six months to the end of June.
Turnover at A$586.6m was up 8.3% and was helped by strong local advertising demand and the positive impact of its markets of the continuing economic expansion of China and the Far East.
The South African operation performed strongly in a stable, upbeat economic and trading environment, INM said. A strong revenue performance, combined with ongoing cost saving initiatives, delivered a 30.9% increase in operating profits to a record 101.7m rand.
The UK operation recorded revenue of £68.7m sterling in the first six months of 2004, up 8% on its continuing operations. INM said the combination of growing revenues and good cost control produced a record operating profit of £5m, which represents a 42% increase on continuing operations over 2003.
The full rollout of converting the broadsheet Independent to a compact-only edition was completed in March and culminated in the Independent being named as the National Newspaper of the Year in the UK. Circulation was up 21% year on year, the highest ABC circulation figures since 1997.
'Trading in 2004 has been very positive, with all five markets showing good revenue and profit growth,' Independent News and Media said in its results statement.
'That positive trading position has continued into the second half, and as such, the board remains confident of further improvements in underlying profitability for 2004, at least in line with market consensus forecasts,' it added.
'A combination of these current buoyant conditions, coupled with the benefits of the ongoing restructuring, leaves the group extremely well placed to deliver a meaningful advance for 2005,' the company concluded.
Shares in the company were unchanged at €2.07 in Dublin this evening.
