Auckland heatset plant still working but up for sale

APN takes $1.8 million write down on Manukau heatset printing business as it keeps the wheels turning while looking for a buyer.

Following on from last year's restructuring, APN management is currently in discussions with a number of parties regarding the Auckland plant. On the books it is being treated as a “discontinued business” at a loss of $1.8 million for the period under review.

According to Brian Hood, chief operating officer for APN Print, though the business is up for sale, it is still running as usual. “[It] is very much operational and there is no intention to close the business,” he told Print21.

Like most businesses, APN has not been immune from the difficult economic conditions that have affected companies worldwide. Chief executive, Brian Hopkins, said that 2009 was “a year that likes of which APN has never experienced before”, citing underlying revenue declines of 12 per cent across APN News and Media’s businesses.

In its 2009 Annual Report, APN said that its printing operations “remain a strong asset”, stating the press centres in Yandina, Ballina, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Bundaberg and Mackay as a contributing factor to this. These sites were recently equipped with Manugraph presses. Almost two years on, Hood is impressed with the results that the presses have delivered.“The Manugraph presses are going very well and we are very pleased with their performance and believe them to be at "best practice" performance levels. Make-readies, waste and print colour quality are better than expected,” he said.

APN’s report listed investment in equipment as key to the company’s printing business: “Our investments in press technology continue to lift the quality of publications and have attracted several new print contracts, while the successful negotiation of a long-term newsprint deal will deliver solid cost savings in the future,” said the statement.