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APN
annual report
2011
directors’ report
APN News & Media Limited and Controlled Entities
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF COMPANY SECRETARY
Yvette Lamont – Group General Counsel and Company Secretary
Yvette Lamont is a Solicitor who was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW in 1987 and the High Court of Australia in 1988.
Ms Lamont has been in her current role with the Company since November 1998 and was previously the General Counsel of the publicly
listed pay television company Australis Media Limited, was a Senior Associate with the law firm Allens Arthur Robinson in the Media and
Technology Group and was a Solicitor with the law firm Boyd, House & Partners.
She is a Committee Member of the Media and Communications Committee of the Law Council of Australia, is a Graduate of the Australian
Institute of Company Directors and has attended courses at the Chartered Secretaries Institute.
3. PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES
APN is one of the key newspaper publishers in New Zealand, including The New Zealand Herald and a range of regional newspapers. It
is also a major publisher of regional newspapers in Queensland. APN is a leading outdoor operator in Australia and New Zealand and has
joint venture outdoor businesses in Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia. APN has a prominent position in the radio market, with The Radio
Network in New Zealand and the Australian Radio Network, both joint ventures. APN also owns a number of online businesses including
GrabOne and CC Media. APN has been listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since 1992 and on the New Zealand Stock Exchange
since 2004.
The nature of the consolidated entity’s activities did not change significantly during the financial year.
4. DIVIDENDS
Dividends paid to owners during the financial year were as follows:
2011
$’000
2010
$’000
Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2010 of 7.0 cents per share, franked to 2.0 cents
paid on 30 March 2011 (2009: 4.0 cents per share franked paid on 30 March 2010)
42,426
23,812
Franked interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2011 of 3.5 cents per share paid on
28 September 2011. (2010: 5.0 cents per share unfranked paid on 28 September 2010)
21,650
29,942
64,076
53,754
In addition to the above dividends, since the end of the financial year the Directors have declared the payment of a final dividend of 5.0 cents,
franked to 1.5 cents to be paid on 30 March 2012.
5. CONSOLIDATED RESULT AND REVIEW OF OPERATIONS
The consolidated loss attributable to owners of the parent entity for the financial year (after exceptional items and discontinued operations)
was $45,070,000 (2010: profit of $93,756,000). A review of operations of the consolidated entity for the year ended 31 December 2011 is set
out on pages 4 to 17.
6. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE STATE OF AFFAIRS
In the opinion of the Directors, there were no significant changes in the state of affairs of the consolidated entity during the financial year
under review not otherwise disclosed in this report or the consolidated financial statements.
7. MATTERS SUBSEQUENT TO THE END OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR
On 23 February 2012, the Group announced that it had reached an agreement to form a joint venture with Quadrant Private Equity to
target expansion in the Outdoor advertising segment in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The Outdoor joint venture, to retain the name
APN Outdoor, will incorporate all of APN’s wholly-owned Outdoor businesses in Australia and New Zealand as well as APN’s 50% interest
in Rainbow Premium Outdoor, in Indonesia. The transaction values APN Outdoor at $272 million on an enterprise value basis and will
generate gross cash proceeds of approximately $190 million for APN upon completion. APN’s 50% ownership in Adshel (street furniture)
and Hong Kong (Buspak and Cody) operations remain outside the new APN Outdoor joint venture.
Other than the matter described above, the Directors are not aware of any matter or circumstance that has arisen since the end of the
financial year that has significantly affected or may significantly affect the Group’s operations, the results of those operations or the Group’s
state of affairs in future financial years.