NZZ Group in the red
Etienne Jornod, Chairman of the Board of Directors, comments in the Sonntagszeitung on the media company’s operating results for 2015. He also comments on the decision to have considered Markus Somm for the position of editor-in-chief.
Due to the intended closure of the print shop and the related depreciation on buildings and production equipment, a loss will result for 2014. This was stated by Etienne Jornod, Chairman of the Board of Directors, in an interview with the Sonntagszeitung. He did not give any figures. For 2013, the NZZ Group had still reported a net profit of CHF 24.9 million.
The 2014 operating result was in line with expectations, Jornod explained. The decline in reader market revenues in the print business was more than compensated for by NZZ's digital business. In 2014, subscribers were gained for the first time in a long time, said Jornod. Admittedly, the net increase is still small, but it should mark a trend reversal.
With regard to the print shop in Schlieren, Jornod stated that it was not true that it was profitable. Costs were already around 40 percent above the market level. As costs are likely to rise further in view of developments in the newspaper printing market, the NZZ Group is taking action before the problems worsen.
In the interview, Jornod also defended the decision to have examined Markus Somm as a candidate for the editorial management of the NZZ. Various personalities belonging to the FDP and very close to the NZZ had recommended this to him. If Somm is characterized as a national conservative, he shares this only to a very limited extent.
However, the editor-in-chief of the Basler Zeitung, in which SVP strategist Christoph Blocher has a stake, did not meet several criteria and the nomination did not fall on him, Jornod said without giving details. He immediately admitted that he had not expected such strong reactions. (SDA)
