Geon has also taken a huge hit in value by writing down NZ$100m in goodwill from its books, almost half the previous value, leaving it at just NZ$121m.

Revenues in the year to June 2009 were down by 12.7 per cent to NZ$334.9m. Hedging cost the company NZ$17.4m due to the drop in interest rates. Geon received some NZ$302.1m in loans in November through its private equity backer Gresham, with interest repayments at the discretion of management until 2013, a timeline which can be extended by two years. However Geon has to meet certain financial targets by 2012.

Those targets remain confidential, but will be no stroll n the park. CEO Graham Morgan told Australian Printer that his customers were spending less on print now than before the GFC, although he says Geon has won
several new accounts in the contracts sector recently, as it moved into print management territory with its end-to-end concept.

Auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers said, “The validity of the going concern assumption on which the financial report is prepared depends on the ability of the group to meet its revenue, cash flow projections and
continued access to the borrowing facilities.

“If the company were unable to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, adjustments may have to be made to reflect the situation that the assets may need to be realised at other than in the
amounts at which they are currently recorded in the balance sheet.”

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter