Heatset printing prices in both Australia and New Zealand have impacted in the results of the country’s biggest printer. Group sales remained stable but this was due in the main to the $77m Bauer distribution contract
For its FY2016 full year results PMP has logged a 97.7 per cent plunge in net profit, which now sits at $0.2m compared to $8m in 2015.
A spokesperson for PMP told Australian Printer the $7.8m loss was caused by two significant one-off costs incurred by the print giant, the bad debt from Dick Smith and fees arising from a new corporate bond.
The spokesperson says the ‘non-recoverable’ amount owed by the collapsed electronics retailer tops the $4m mark, as forecast in PMP’s half year results.
PMP Australia’s sales revenue dropped 14.7 per cent from $392.3m in 2015 to $334.6m, while EBIT suffered a nine per cent fall to $16.5m.
PMP says the main factors behind the sluggish revenue were a customer buying their own paper which saw the company $25m out of pocket, the cessation of its directories print which cost $8m, and also the loss of big client which set the company back a further $13m.
PMP’s EBITDA also saw an 11.9 per cent drop to $51.2m, however the company managed to increase sales revenue by a modest 0.5 per cent or $4.3m to $816m.
On a positive note, PMP’s net debt is now back in the black at $0.7m for FY2016 after logging debts of $16.3m in FY2015.
Commenting on the results, PMP CEO Peter George declares the company ‘net debt free’.
“The net cash position of $0.7m is a first for the company and contrasts favourably to the position four years ago when the company had $143m net debt,” George says.
“This achievement is a clear sign of our cash generating capability and the continued tight control undertaken over working capital and capital expenditure. In addition a new $40m corporate bond was issued which allowed us to repay the previous $50m bond, extend tenor and secure lower funding costs.”
PMP’s distribution arm, Gordon & Gotch logged mixed results, with sales revenue rocketing by 28.8 per cent to $345.8m on the Bauer contract win, but EBIT dropping 21.9 per cent to $2.3m.
Looking forward, the company is putting its faith in the ‘relatively stable’ print catalogue market, which has delivered 7.4 billion catalogues in the past 12 months.
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