West Australian Newspapers Holdings (WAN) posted a fall in its first quarter net profit for the 3 months to September, 2007 to $20.6 million from the $25.5 million of prior corresponding period.
However, the story was different at the operating level, with normalised earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increasing a tidy 12.4% to $47.3 million in the three months to 30 September 2007.
"The underlying EBIT result is the best indicator of the company's true operating performance and confirms the strength both of the company's operations and the Western Australian economy," chief executive officer Ken Steinke said.
"The lift in advertising revenue which has more than offset the cost impacts associated with the press installation, which we flagged earlier this year, he said.
Justifying the mixed results, Steinke said: "This quarter's results is also affected by the sale of Hoyts, where a loss has been recorded."
The company said it continued to invest in new products in the digital division.
"We expect most of the installation-related costs to largely dissipate over the next few months," the company said.
Its main three business units produced solid results:
The West Australian, the state's daily paper, produced revenue of $91.5 million, compared to $89.2 in the previous corresponding period.
The West Magazines' revenue was $3.6 million versus $2.7 million.
The Regionals produced $12.4 versus $11.2 million.
Shares remained unchanged at $12.96.
