INL shares rise on positive profit forecast

By NZPA

Friday 6th December 2002

Shares in media group Independent Newspapers Ltd (INL) rallied after the company put out a positive forecast for its half year results today.

The company, which publishes about half the country's newspapers, expects its after tax profits for the half year to December 31 to improve by about a quarter.

INL shares closed up 5c to $2.95, at one stage touching $3.02.

Chairman Ken Cowley said the company was putting out the forecast both for reasons of continuous disclosure and because INL felt the share price was too low.

"In the view of the directors, the current INL share price did not reflect the strength of the company's results to date in this financial year," he said in a statement.

INL shares slipped from $4.20 in March to a year low of $2.80 this week, amid recurrent disbelief that Telecom will hold on to its investments in Sky TV (12 percent) and INL itself (10 percent).

INL has spent much of this year restructuring its operations, including the merger its two Wellington newspapers.

It recently said 66 percent-owned investment Sky was expected to turn the corner of profitability in fiscal 2004.

Today, Mr Cowley said trading in the six-month period was shaping up well.

"Our publications have generally seen good growth in advertising revenues, particularly in the last three months, and are trading very satisfactorily.

"If the conditions continue without marked change to the end of the half-year we expect to be announcing a net profit after tax of more than 25 percent above the same period last year."

In the six months to December 2001, profits at the media company almost doubled to $27.1 million.

Its consolidated 2002 net profit rose by nearly 45 percent to $37.8 million.

INL -- 44 percent-owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp -- expects to release its half year result in late February.

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