APN sees growth of up to 10 per cent this year

Trans-Tasman media company APN News & Media Ltd says it expects earnings per share (EPS) to grow by up to 10 per cent this year after lifting its first half earnings, according to Australian media reports today.

APN's net profit increased nine per cent to A$72.1 million for the first half of calendar 2006.

"The board of APN News & Media continues to believe that, providing satisfactory trading conditions continue, growth in overall profitability will be in line with previous guidance," the company said.

"This means growth in earnings per share is expected to be between five per cent and 10 per cent for the full year."

APN chief executive Brendan Hopkins said the company, which owns newspapers, radio stations and outdoor advertising in Australia and New Zealand, remained confident of delivering another record result for the full year.

"In particular, Queensland continues to show good growth and our outdoor business is confirming our previous forecasts of strong growth now that we have seen the end of a number of uneconomic contracts," Mr Hopkins said.

The publisher of the flagship New Zealand Herald newspaper achieved a 16 per cent rise in annual net profit to a record A$149.66 million in 2005.

Mr Hopkins said APN continued to invest in new products and had made a significant investment in its online business in the period.

He said the Search4jobs website launched three months ago was now the second largest online jobs destination in New Zealand.

* APN owns nzherald.co.nz, the New Zealand Herald, Herald on Sunday, Aucklander and other papers throughout the country. It is also joint owner of The Radio Network.