Better times for CanWest

By SIMON HENDERY media writer

CanWest's New Zealand prospects are looking brighter, just as the international media company is putting a "for sale" sign on its local interests.

Canada-based CanWest Global Communications said yesterday that its New Zealand television business - TV3 and TV4 - lost C$1.6 million ($2.15 million) during the three months to May 31, a marked improvement on its C$3.8 million loss for the same quarter of last year.

The company's local radio businesses, including the RadioWorks and More FM networks, also had a better quarter, turning in a C$3.3 million profit, up from C$2.7 million previously.

Total revenue was also up: television by C$3.2 million to C$17.3 million and radio by C$1.3 million to C$14.6 million.

CanWest's New Zealand chief, Brent Impey, said the result was helped by a resurgence in broadcast advertising.

"On the television side we're continuing the momentum and the results have been encouraging.

"We've seen not only growth overall in television advertising year-on-year, but also TV3's share of that has gone up substantially," Impey said.

"On the radio side we're tracking ahead of last year in terms of revenue."

CanWest has instructed JBWere to handle the sale of its New Zealand businesses, estimated to be worth about $350 million.

Internationally, CanWest's third-quarter earnings were slightly weaker than those for same period of the previous year.