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Monday, February 27, 2012

Fairfax reports a plunge in profits

Profits have dived at Australia's Fairfax media

Australian publishing giant Fairfax, the major rival in the country to Rupert Murdoch's News Limited, reported a 44 percent plunge in first-half profit Thursday due to flagging print advertising revenue.
Fairfax Media, owner of the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age in Melbourne and the Australian Financial Review, posted an Aus$96.7 million (US$103 million) net profit for the six months to December, compared with Aus$172.3 million previously.

However, the culprit appears to be the economy, and not competition from the internet.

The publishing group's chief executive Greg Hywood cited "extremely poor advertising conditions" in Fairfax's major markets, where income fell 10 percent, with the company "particularly exposed to stresses in finance, retail and real estate sectors".

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