LZ Medien helps NZZ Group
Publishing Companies: The NZZ Group is restructuring its leadership. Above all, however, it must get its parent company out of the red.
Publishers The NZZ Group is restructuring its management. Above all, however, it has to lift its parent company out of the red. As of January 1, 2006, the NZZ Group will have a new management structure. In future, Group management will be in the hands of a three-member board consisting of Hugo Bütler, Beat Lauber and an as yet unknown person. Bütler's powers as Chairman of the Group Management Board will be expanded, and he will also act as the Group's Head of Journalism and thus as the most senior of all the editors-in-chief. The commercial-publishing tasks at Group level will also be managed from a single source, that of Lauber. The current Head of Regional Newspapers will thus become the top publishing director and will also take NZZ and NZZaS under his wing. The third member will be responsible for the finances of NZZ AG and the Group, as well as for coordinating the areas of accounting, controlling and IT.internal changesAt the same time as the three areas of journalism, publishing and finance are being bundled at Group management level, Bütler will relinquish his role as NZZ Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of the NZZ Executive Board. A new, presumably internal person is also being sought for this role. As Marco de Soppani, previously a member of the Group Executive Board and the NZZ Management Board, is also stepping down at the end of the year, the position of Head of Publishing & Printing at NZZ will also become vacant. De Stoppani will take over this function in August on an interim basis from Tobias Trevisan, who will then move to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
After the general meeting of NZZ shareholders on April 16, the NZZ Group also published its 2004 annual report. As already briefly reported earlier, the NZZ Group was able to increase its turnover by 18.6 percent to 547 million francs. The operating result amounted to 16.1 million francs, compared to a loss of 8.7 million francs in the previous year. Net profit more than quadrupled to CHF 21.8 million.
The accounts for 2003 and 2004 are only comparable to a limited extent. In the year under review, the holding in Bund Verlag AG was removed from the scope of consolidation, while the LZ Media Group ("Neue Luzerner Zeitung") was included in the NZZ consolidated accounts for the first time after the holding was increased to 51% in mid-2004.
The annual report also emphasizes several times that LZ Medien is the main factor behind the strong increase in Group sales. The parent company itself - primarily NZZ and NZZ am Sonntag - was only able to increase its turnover by just under 3 percent to CHF 187.5 million (mainly thanks to NZZaS). Business pressure also increased by 3 percent, while Tagblatt Medien only just held steady.
Zurich remains in the redLZ Medien - together with Tagblatt Medien - also helped the NZZ Group to increase its profits, while the parent company remained in the red. According to the annual report, "clear progress" was made there, but this was not sufficient for sustainable development.
NZZaS, NZZ Online and NZZ Ticket are still in the red in terms of contribution margins, but are better off than before. NZZaS in particular was able to reduce its start-up losses from CHF 10.6 million to CHF 4.9 million last year. NZZ itself contributed a contribution margin of around CHF 5 million, a good 50 percent more than in the previous year. NZZ Folio and NZZ-Fernsehen also delivered positive contribution margins.
A well-equipped AnzeigerWith a readership of 17,000, the Anzeiger enjoys a good reputation.
St. Gallen, the tabloid free weekly of NZZ subsidiary Tagblatt Medien, is "growing in popularity", according to the NZZ Group's annual report. It continues: "With higher advertising revenues and increasing success in the reader market, the Anzeiger is strategically on the right track and is well equipped to counter the expansion of 20 Minuten into Eastern Switzerland."
However, according to information from St. Gallen, it has still not been decided whether the Anzeiger will also take part in the SBB tender for box locations in Eastern Switzerland. (mk)
Top position: Hugo BütlerStrengthened: Beat Lauber
Markus Knöpfli
After the general meeting of NZZ shareholders on April 16, the NZZ Group also published its 2004 annual report. As already briefly reported earlier, the NZZ Group was able to increase its turnover by 18.6 percent to 547 million francs. The operating result amounted to 16.1 million francs, compared to a loss of 8.7 million francs in the previous year. Net profit more than quadrupled to CHF 21.8 million.
The accounts for 2003 and 2004 are only comparable to a limited extent. In the year under review, the holding in Bund Verlag AG was removed from the scope of consolidation, while the LZ Media Group ("Neue Luzerner Zeitung") was included in the NZZ consolidated accounts for the first time after the holding was increased to 51% in mid-2004.
The annual report also emphasizes several times that LZ Medien is the main factor behind the strong increase in Group sales. The parent company itself - primarily NZZ and NZZ am Sonntag - was only able to increase its turnover by just under 3 percent to CHF 187.5 million (mainly thanks to NZZaS). Business pressure also increased by 3 percent, while Tagblatt Medien only just held steady.
Zurich remains in the redLZ Medien - together with Tagblatt Medien - also helped the NZZ Group to increase its profits, while the parent company remained in the red. According to the annual report, "clear progress" was made there, but this was not sufficient for sustainable development.
NZZaS, NZZ Online and NZZ Ticket are still in the red in terms of contribution margins, but are better off than before. NZZaS in particular was able to reduce its start-up losses from CHF 10.6 million to CHF 4.9 million last year. NZZ itself contributed a contribution margin of around CHF 5 million, a good 50 percent more than in the previous year. NZZ Folio and NZZ-Fernsehen also delivered positive contribution margins.
A well-equipped AnzeigerWith a readership of 17,000, the Anzeiger enjoys a good reputation.
St. Gallen, the tabloid free weekly of NZZ subsidiary Tagblatt Medien, is "growing in popularity", according to the NZZ Group's annual report. It continues: "With higher advertising revenues and increasing success in the reader market, the Anzeiger is strategically on the right track and is well equipped to counter the expansion of 20 Minuten into Eastern Switzerland."
However, according to information from St. Gallen, it has still not been decided whether the Anzeiger will also take part in the SBB tender for box locations in Eastern Switzerland. (mk)
Top position: Hugo BütlerStrengthened: Beat Lauber
Markus Knöpfli
