Opus Print Group saw its results fall into the red in the first half of the year as tough trading conditions and restructuring costs took their toll.
Its after tax profit loss of $3.4m for the half year compared with an after tax profit of $2.4m for the corresponding period last year.The Opus share price has taken a battering in the last six months, it was 61c in August but stands at little more than a quarter of that today at 16c.
The Publishing Division in particular was hard hit, and in a cost cutting move the company reduced its staff numbers by an undisclosed amount, and closed the old McPherson’s site in Mulgrave.
The Publishing Division saw revenue slump by 14.4 per cent on its 2011 pro-forma always owned result, achieving $48.7m revenue. The Adjusted EBITDA was down by 30.2 per cent on its 2011 pro-forma always owned result to $7.5m.
Even Opus’ Outdoor Media division revenue was down by 8.8 per cent to $10.6m from the prior year revenues of $11.6m. This compares with the OOH industry as a whole, which saw revenues slump by 4.6 per cent in the final quarter, although they were up for the year as a whole.
Overall Opus revenue rose by 30 per cent, due to the inclusion of McPherson’s which became part of the group in April last year, it reached $59.3m, but on an always owned basis revenue was down by 13.5 per cent, with Opus saying this was due to softer trading in both the Government and Publishing sectors.
Cliff Brigstocke, CEO of Opus says, “The result for the half year was disappointing but significantly impacted by market trading conditions for the Publishing division. The integration activities associated post-merger are now substantially complete and we have progressed the core restructuring initiatives which were required given trading conditions and our results which fell below expectations.
According to Brigstocke the company is now well positioned to take the advantages that come through consolidation and the move to shorter runs and shorter lead times, as well as its regional foot print. He says, “Our scale and Asia-Pacific footprint provide a platform for growth which will be supported by the strong technological capabilities of our business and our ability to provide a full service offering. The six month result was significantly impacted by a number of one off costs which were necessary to manage market conditions and to ensure that the synergy benefits available from being a larger group are realised.”
