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Independent News & Media (INM), parent company of APN, publisher of the Herald, says first-half profit fell 27 per cent on costs to cut jobs.
Net income declined to €38 million ($74.5 million), or 4.92c a share, from €52.1 million, or 6.85c a year earlier, the Dublin-based company said yesterday.
Sales climbed 2.4 per cent to €815.5 million.
INM is cutting jobs in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Britain to reduce costs.
The company cut staff numbers by 450 during the first half, leading to costs of €29 million.
The full-year cost of the restructuring is expected to be about €45 million.
"We will continue our unrelenting attention on driving revenue growth while achieving cost and margin improvements in all of our businesses," chief executive officer Sir Anthony O'Reilly said in a statement.
INM shares yesterday fell 20c, or 6 per cent, to €3.13.
The stock has advanced 4.3 per cent this year, compared with a 4.1 per cent loss in the 29-member Bloomberg Europe Media Index.
The publisher's investments in India, New Zealand and South Africa have helped to counter slower growth in Britain.
Independent News & Media bought a stake in Jagran Prakashan, India's biggest regional-language newspaper publisher, two years ago, and has South African newspapers including the Daily Voice in Cape Town.
INM, which has more than 180 newspapers and magazines and about 130 radio stations, plans to pay a first-half dividend of 4.57c a share, a 10 per cent increase on last year's payout of 4.15c.
- Bloomberg
