Fairfax Media's print struggles to keep up with online

Fairfax Media suffers volume declines in both external and internal printing revenues.

Revenue from printing was down by 31.1 per cent at $32.8 million for the 2009 financial year - $47.6 million the previous year. In the past year printers at Fairfax Media have been dealt a number of blows with the closure of the Burnie printing plant and consolidation of the work at Launceston; the company also cut one shift at the Chullora plant, NSW.

Printing was not the only area where Fairfax Media got a hit; revenue from broadcasting units were also down. The company reported earnings of $605 million, down 27.2 per cent on the prior year, along with incurring a net loss after tax of $380 million, citing cuts to discretionary advertising and online challenges as impacting this result.

The economic downturn hit the company most severely during the second half of the year. All publishing operations suffered from lower advertising revenue, but regional community and specialist publishing have not been affected as much as metropolitan publishing in Australia and New Zealand publishing.

The only signs of growth were in the online businesses where Fairfax Digital increased its revenue, while the New Zealand TradeMe businesses increased both revenue and EBITDA.

Putting on a brave face, Fairfax Media’s managing director, Brian McCarthy, said that financial performance was the best that could be achieved in an unprecedented and difficult business environment.

“Among the challenges we’ve faced have been reshaping Fairfax for the future at the same time as dealing with depressed advertising markets,” he said. “The emerging company will be a stronger force in the market place.”