Publically listed print companies rallied in the second half of 2014 to well outperform the market average three times over, with most annual reports promising.
The nine print-related companies listed on the ASX are up an average of 10.5 per cent from the year’s January 2 opening compared to the All Ordinaries’ 4.45 per cent drop.
Usual entrant Opus was excluded because of a reissuing of shares following its buyout by Hong Kong printer 1010 Printing in September, while APN Outdoor has only just floated.
The biggest percentage rise was by APN News & Media, which rose sharply in February after it issued shares to raise capital for its buyout of the final 50 per cent of the Australian Radio Network and The Radio Network.
The company also posted a $2.6m profit in its half-year report after losing more than $500m a year earlier, and its share price continued to rise, ending up 70 per cent.
Packaging giant Amcor was steady throughout the year before its announcement of a 25 per cent profit growth and more than $10bn in sales triggered a non-stop rise to $13.10, up 23 per cent.
Pre-media and print management company Wellcom also got a huge boost from its annual report, posting an $8.6m profit, up 9.5 per cent, and 15 per cent revenue increase.
Wellcom gained further investor confidence with its US expansion and ambitions for a global reach, earning an 18.3 per cent share price boost.
Despite closing its two flagship metro printing plants and its seemingly constant other problems, Fairfax is up almost 20 per cent this year following a huge rise after its annual report showed a 12.1 per cent profit increase.
After a bad start to the year, Paperlinx is down only four per cent after its annual report seemed to convince investors it is finally turning things around. It also had a massive unexplained spike on October 21 to 7.5c before eventually moving down to 4.6c.
Computershare finished flat while PMP was exactly even for the year and after last month’s AGM where executives predicted the company would be debt-free by 2017.
Australia’s biggest printer lost 16 per cent of its share price in the 18 days following the AGM address before rebounding slightly to its current level in the past week.
The only serious loser for the year is struggling packager Colorpak, which recorded a 21.4 per cent fall for the year.
Its share market performance was not helped by its annual report showing a $7.5m profit had been turned into a $13m loss in just one year, not including a $15m goodwill impairment charge, and a revenue fall of 6.7 per cent.
According to a ProPrint poll last year, 48 per cent of respondents thought listed print companies were undervalued, while 27 per cent said they were overvalued.
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