Independent News & Media issues fresh profit warning amid expected one-off costs
MEDIA group Independent News & Media (INM) has issued a second profit warning in little more than three months, citing higher than expected one-off legal costs associated with a yearlong boardroom dispute that ended with last month’s departure of former CEO Robert Pitt.
In a statement issued to the Irish Stock Exchange, INM said: “Legal costs related to the independent review and meeting the ongoing requirements of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) have been significantly higher than previously estimated.”
The company, which publishes the Belfast Telegraph, Sunday Life and Irish Independent, also cited challenging market conditions.
Following an earlier profit warning in July analysts had expected INM to generate pre-tax profits this year of around €30m (£33.7m) — down from a previous €38m (£26.6m) forecast.
That’s now set to come in substantially lower. The company
this morning said it expected a “material reduction in expected full year profit before tax”.
The latest warning indicated that costs linked to the fallout from a dispute that arose last year between Mr Pitt and INM chairman Leslie Buckley over a potential bid for Newstalk, are continuing to clock up, even after the exit of Mr Pitt and his replacement as CEO by industry veteran Michael Doorly.
Legal and other costs linked to the matter are understood to have run into millions of euros.