6th May 2008 09:51
Independent News & Media PLC06 May 2008 APN News & Media Annual General Meeting Sydney, 6 May 2008 Chairman's Address to Shareholders: The Chairman of APN News & Media Limited (APN) in which Independent News & MediaPLC has a 39.2% shareholding, made the following address at the Company's AnnualGeneral Meeting held on 6 May 2008. With a clear and focused strategy and a portfolio of highly attractive mediaassets in high growth markets, APN News & Media has again produced a record netprofit for its shareholders. It is extremely pleasing to report that for the 15th consecutive year,shareholders have received an increased dividend payment, reflecting the ongoingstrength of your Company. Net Profit after Tax for 2007 increased by 8% to a record $169.4 million beforenon-recurring items - a commendable outcome in a highly competitive marketplace.Total dividends per share increased by 6% to a record of 31.5 cents per share. At a time when global markets are adjusting to a period of uncertainty it ispleasing that APN's local growth strategies continue to produce good returns. We remain obsessively local in our dealings with our audiences and ourcustomers. APN's media brands are vital components of their local communities.It is through the trust and reliance that our brands have established over manyyears that we can continue to produce strong results in highly competitivemarket conditions. The balance and diversity of APN's assets is a major component of the Company'sstrength. For example, while tight market conditions prevailed in New Zealand,where APN has market-leading Publishing, Online, Broadcasting and OutdoorAdvertising businesses, growth in our Australian and Hong Kong markets wasstrong. Our exposure to high growth commodity markets which are benefiting fromthe ongoing expansion in the Chinese and Indian economies continues to bode wellfor the future. The 2007 year was an eventful one. In February our shareholders were presentedwith a proposal from a private consortium to acquire the Company. As one of theconsortium members was Independent News & Media PLC (INM), APN's largestshareholder, the Board of your Company immediately established a sub-committeeof Directors not associated with INM to handle the approach. At all times bestpractices in corporate governance were adhered to. You will recall that afterlengthy negotiations, a final offer of $6.20 per share was put to shareholdersat a special meeting. An independent expert's report concluded that the offerwas fair and reasonable and therefore in the best interest of APN shareholders.Indeed 80% of voting shareholders voted in favour of the proposal, as did amajority of institutional shareholders. However the requirement that 75% oftotal shares voted on the proposal be voted in favour was not met. As a result,the proposal did not succeed. As a company, we have moved on. It is up to individual shareholders to judgewhether the decision by some to reject the $6.20 per share proposal wasjustified. However, the subsequent events in the market certainly show that thedecision to recommend the proposal to shareholders was the right one. Despite these events, management was not diverted from its prime purpose ofmanaging your Company. In all respects, it was business as usual. In recent weeks much has been written about the dramatic change in world creditmarkets. APN is well placed to withstand continued volatility having re-negotiated creditfacilities in October 2006, well prior to this deterioration. The company hasno material debt maturities until 2010, with some maturities extending to 2012.Furthermore, the limited amount of current interest bearing liabilities in thebalance sheet are covered by existing credit lines and surplus cash. APN'soverall debt levels remain reasonable, allowing us ample capacity to fundstrategic growth opportunities should they arise. The Board noted that for the year to date, revenues and profit were ahead of theprior year in challenging market conditions. Assuming such conditions do notdeteriorate, the Board expects that APN's broad range of high quality mediaassets to again perform satisfactorily in 2008. On behalf of the Board, I would like to extend my thanks to our chief executiveBrendan Hopkins, all of his senior management team and all APN employees foranother outstanding year of achievement. As well, I would like to record myappreciation for the continuing support of APN shareholders. James J Parkinson Chairman About APN: APN News & Media Limited (ASX, NZX:APN) is the largest media company in NewZealand, where it owns The New Zealand Herald, the country's largest newspaper.APN is the largest radio and outdoor advertising operator in Australasia as wellas one of Australia's leading regional publishers. APN is a leader in online inboth New Zealand and in Queensland and has been listed on the Australian StockExchange since 1992, and on the New Zealand Stock Exchange since June 2004. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Independent News & Media