APN announce record profits
APN News & Media, in which Independent News & Media has a 38.3% shareholding, today announced a record interim net profit after tax and before non-recurring items of AUD$73.2m (€45.2m) for the six months ended June 30 2007, up 5% on the prior year.
The Directors have today declared an unfranked interim dividend of 10.5 cents per share, up 8% on the prior year.
APN chief executive Brendan Hopkins said: "This is a solid outcome for the first half of the year. While trading conditions in New Zealand were subdued, Australian Publishing continued to perform well, due in part to the ongoing strength of the Queensland economy. The Outdoor division recorded a very pleasing 33% increase in EBIT, demonstrating the value of our market leading brands."
"The second half of the year is traditionally our busiest trading period and we are well placed to profit from changes that have been made to our business model and the ongoing growth of our portfolio of assets across a broad range of economies and geographies."
