NZME to build online news paywall
Publisher NZME has signalled it will put up a paywall around some of its ‘‘premium’’ online content as the media industry continues to battle a decline in traditional advertising.
Chief executive Michael Boggs told analysts on a conference call that NZME aspired to be a ‘‘growth business’’ in the medium term and wanted to ‘‘monetise and produce much more premium content’’.
Last year NZME licensed a digital publishing platform called Arc from the Washington Post, which it said would give it new capabilities.
Boggs confirmed NZME would have a ‘‘premium subscription’’ offering in the market this year, but said investors could not expect a ‘‘whole lot of revenues from it’’ this year.
NZME would be ‘‘nurturing’’ its audience over the coming months to make sure it was ‘‘loving that content … and then obviously the monetisation of them will be the last thing in that process’’, he said.
‘‘Our focus right now is continuing to improve the level of the content so people are prepared to pay for it and we absolutely see that happening this year.’’
Boggs also raised the prospect of a possible appeal to the Supreme Court, if it lost its forthcoming Court of Appeal case against the Commerce Commission’s block on its merger with Stuff.
NZME, which is listed on the New Zealand stock exchange and owns The New Zealand Herald plus about half the country’s commercial radio stations, reported a profit of $21 million for the year to December, down from a profit of
$74.5m in 2016.
Revenues fell 4.2 per cent to
$390m, due to a 7 per cent fall in print revenues to $221m.
The result appeared to satisfy investors, with NZME shares opening 2 cents higher at $0.78.
The company’s figures for 2016 had been skewed by NZME’s demerger from its former parent, Australia company APN News & Media, and a $36m settlement of a tax dispute with Inland Revenue.
NZME said its trading profit for the year was down 4 per cent to just under $27m while it cut its operating costs by 5 per cent.
Boggs said 2017 included ‘‘a difficult third quarter’’, but was pleased its decline in print advertising revenues slowed ‘‘a little’’.
Merging with rival publisher Stuff to ‘‘underwrite the competitiveness of New Zealand content generation and delivery’’ remained a priority, he said.
He reiterated that NZME expected a hearing at the Court of Appeal before July and a ruling from it before the end of the year.
Boggs expected the cost of further appealing the ruling would be about $500,000 and said the bill would be split with Stuff’s Australian owner, Fairfax Media.
Air NZ launches Taipei route
Recent bad weather and engine woes have failed to seriously dent Air New Zealand’s financial performance. The national carrier’s profit after tax was
$232 million for the half-year to the end of December, down from $256m a year earlier, it said yesterday. It also announced a new route: From November it will fly from Auckland direct to Taipei, Taiwan, up to five times a week. About 36,000 passengers from Taipei flew to New Zealand each year, chief executive Christopher Luxon said. On the numbers side, chairman Tony Carter said the result showed the airline’s resilience, despite an 18 per cent increase in fuel price. Shareholders will be paid a fully imputed interim dividend of 11 cents a share on March
16, up 1c from a year ago.
NZ Super returns to slow
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund says its returns could drop sharply this year, after 2017’s gain of almost 20 per cent. Chairwoman Catherine Savage warned that returns were expected to be much more modest despite stronger economic conditions. ‘‘Returns are likely to normalise and over the long term we expect the fund will deliver average returns of approximately 8 per cent a year.’’ The fund stood at $37.9 billion at the end of December.
THL profit doubles
Tourism Holdings more than doubled it’s half-yearly net profit thanks in part to US expansion and tax benefits. The company’s net profit was up 102 per cent to $22.8 million on revenue of $209m in the company’s financial result to December, and it will pay a dividend of 13 cents a share. Chief executive Grant Webster said the result included $9.5m in gross earnings from El Monte, the US-based motorhome rental and sales business it bought early last year. It also reflected the impact of changes in US federal tax rates, which came into effect during the reporting period. THL is forecasting a full-year net profit of $55m to $59m.
Zara hints at online presence
Fast fashion giant Zara appears set to launch a New Zealand online store. The company is yet to announce details; however, a page on its New Zealand website says ‘‘Dear New Zealand, shop online coming soon’’. Zara opened its first New Zealand store at Auckland’s Sylvia Park mall in October 2016, following years of speculation. Zara has yet to announce whether it will open any more physical stores, but rumours continue to swirl that it is looking at sites in Wellington and Christchurch.
Red Seal maker warned
The maker of Red Seal supplements has been warned by the Commerce Commission over the brand’s ‘‘pharmacy strength’’ marketing claims. The watchdog said Endeavour Consumer Health’s Red Seal range is sold in supermarkets and the term ‘‘pharmacy strength’’ is prominent in product labelling and promotional material. It said none of the products in the range had sufficient quantities of any regulated substance to warrant a pharmacy-only designation. Commissioner Anna Rawlings said use of the term was likely to breach the Fair Trading Act as it was likely to mislead consumers. Endeavour has agreed to change the way it markets the range. Endeavour Consumer Health is owned by Christchurch company Ebos Group.