Johannesburg - Media company Caxton and CTP Publishers and
Printers [JSE:CAT] on Thursday reported headline earnings per share of 106.2
cents for the year ended June 2011 from 76.1c a year ago. A dividend of 40c per
share was declared.
Turnover was up 6% to R4.34bn and profit from operating
activities was up 14.4% to R522.6m.
The company said that while retail and wholesale sales
continued to grow throughout the year, unemployment remained high. In addition,
recent volatile international economic conditions have created greater
uncertainty and at this moment in time it appears that difficult trading
conditions, with minimal growth occurring worldwide, can be expected to
continue for some time.
Advertising spend has increased but print advertising as a
percentage of total spend has declined.
"Against this background the company performed
reasonably and increased its market share in the major areas in which it
operates notwithstanding the increased levels of competition," it said.
The financial position remains strong with cash and cash
equivalents amounting to R1.6bn at the year-end which is lower than the
corresponding amount at the previous year-end of R1.8bn due to extensive
investments in the purchase of new capital equipment, working capital and the
repurchase of shares in the company.
Looking ahead, the group said the economy appears to once
again be entering a volatile period with little or no growth being predicted by
a range of economists. The level of employment continues to decline and there
has been a deterioration in consumer confidence.
In addition, the migration to digital products is reducing advertising spent on print, it said.