APN, the Australian group which is 39.2% owned by Independent News & Media, has reported pre-tax profits of €154m for 2008, up from €146m the previous year.
Revenues for the year rose to €769.5m from €741.6m and the group said that trading so far this year is in line with expectations.
APN publishes 23 regional daily newspapers and over 100 non-daily publications in Australia and New Zealand. The company said its regional publishing division again performed well last year.
Its titles in New Zealand include the New Zealand Herald, the Herald on Sunday, the Aucklander and New Zealand Magazines. Despite a moderating of economic conditions in the country, APN said a strong cost focus, innovative sales campaigns and new product extensions helped deliver a 'satisfactory performance'.
APN said the radio market continued to be highly competitive in 2007, particularly in the major markets of Sydney and Melbourne.
In its outdoor division, the company reported a strong performance with the Australian market overall growing by 12.3%.
APN said that trading to date is in line with expectations and revenue and profit are head of the prior year in both Australia and New Zealand.
'Given the current turmoil in world markets, the board believes it is inappropriate to give specific projections at this time,' a statement from the company said.
'The board remains of the view that APN's broad range of high quality media assets in diverse geographic markets will, once again, perform well in 2008,' it added.
