Basler Zeitung Medien posts loss for the 08/09 financial year
The economic crisis, which led to a dramatic decline in job advertisements and overall advertising orders across the entire Swiss media industry, also hit the Basler Zeitung Medien (BZM) Group hard in the 2008/2009 fiscal year. Basler Zeitung Medien’s total revenue reached 262 million Swiss francs, with an operating loss of 12.232 million.
While a consolidated profit of CHF 7 million was achieved in the previous year, the operating loss for the period from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 amounted to CHF 12.232 million. The Group's total sales, which were reported at CHF 281.6 million in the 07/08 financial year, amounted to CHF 262.992 million despite the adverse conditions.
The one-off restructuring expenses of 7.363 million francs reported in the current balance sheet mainly comprise the expenses incurred by the company for social matters, according to a BZM press release. These are social plans that were agreed for the personnel measures at Basler Zeitung on the one hand and for those in connection with the closure of the web offset division of the BZM subsidiary Birkhäuser+GBC on the other. There were also losses in the securities area.
In addition to the aforementioned personnel measures and the discontinuation of the unprofitable web offset business, the measures already implemented to eliminate significant cost factors include in particular the sale of Radio Basel 1 and the discontinuation of the free newspaper News Basel. The Baslerstab was converted into a twice-weekly newspaper.
The one-off restructuring expenses of 7.363 million francs reported in the current balance sheet mainly comprise the expenses incurred by the company for social matters, according to a BZM press release. These are social plans that were agreed for the personnel measures at Basler Zeitung on the one hand and for those in connection with the closure of the web offset division of the BZM subsidiary Birkhäuser+GBC on the other. There were also losses in the securities area.
In addition to the aforementioned personnel measures and the discontinuation of the unprofitable web offset business, the measures already implemented to eliminate significant cost factors include in particular the sale of Radio Basel 1 and the discontinuation of the free newspaper News Basel. The Baslerstab was converted into a twice-weekly newspaper.
