Financial highlights
Sales up 5% at
CER to £6.1bn (with digital and services businesses contributing 50% of
sales)
Adjusted
operating profit 1% higher at £936m
Adjusted EPS of
84.2p (86.5p in 2011)
Operating cash
flow of £788m (£983m in 2011)
Return on
invested capital of 9.1% (9.1% in 2011)
Dividend raised
7% to 45.0p.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Buffett Buys Another Newspaper
The privately held Tulsa newspaper has a daily circulation of 95,000. The sale was reported Monday by the Tulsa World and Berkshire’s Omaha World-Herald, whose executives oversee the company’s newspapers.
Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in March, weren’t disclosed.
NYT Renames International Herald Tribune
The New York Times Co. has renamed the iconic
126-year-old International Herald Tribune.
It's now the International New York Times, reports The Wrap, which will be introduced later this year as
a multiplatform version of the NYT. According to a NYT story on the renaming, the fate of the IHT's staffers is unclear. Half of the newspaper’s
staff work in Paris, and the rest operate across the globe. Founded in 1887 as
the European edition of the New York Herald, the
paper has been headquartered in Paris ever since.
Xerox Acquiring Impika
Xerox Strengthens Leadership in Production Color Printing Through Acquisition of Industrial Inkjet Provider, Impika: NORWALK, Conn. — Xerox has acquired Impika, a leader in the design, production and sale of production inkjet printing solutions used for industrial, commercial, security, label and package printing.
Monday, February 25, 2013
NewPage Luke Mill Gets Energy Break
Maryland, Washington DC,
utilities pay NewPage’s Luke paper mill for renewable energy from black liquor
process.
| When Maryland and the District set floors requiring
electric utilities to use increasing amounts of renewable energy,
environmentalists cheered the prospect of money going to new solar and wind
projects. But today, several years after the legislation went into effect, it has had an unexpected outcome. Thanks to a wrinkle in the definition of renewable, the lion's share of the money used to meet those standards is flowing to paper companies that burn "black liquor," a byproduct of the wood-pulping process. Paper mills have been using black liquor to generate most of their power needs since the 1930s. |
Alberta-Pacific Announces Pulp Price Hike
Alberta-Pacific (Alpac)
announced that its aspen northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp
price would increase in North America and China, effective March 1 until further notice.
Alpac Pulp Sales said Friday that aspen grade NBHK price would increase by $30/tonne, to $820/tonne in North America.
In addition, Alpac said its
export price to China would be $660/tonne. That's $20/tonne above its last
price announcement, when the firm raised NBHK to $640/tonne.price would increase in North America and China, effective March 1 until further notice.
Alpac Pulp Sales said Friday that aspen grade NBHK price would increase by $30/tonne, to $820/tonne in North America.
Suzano also slated its Mar. 1 list
price at $870/tonne in North America, $820/tonne in Europe, and $720/tonne in
Asia.
Promotions Pushed Consumer Purchases
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/20/ca-strongmail-systems-idUSnBw8vnhKja+104+BSW20130220
The survey, conducted online nationwide by Harris Interactive on behalf of StrongMail from January 7-9, 2013 among 2,166 online adults ages 18 and older, found that 67 percent of U.S. online consumers made a purchase from a retailer during the 2012 holiday season as a result of a sale or promotion. Of those who made a purchase from a retailer as a result of a sale/promotion this past holiday season, more than half (51 percent) said an email from a retailer influenced their purchase decision, followed by TV ads (45 percent), print ads (newspaper/magazine) (42 percent) and online advertising (33 percent).
The survey, conducted online nationwide by Harris Interactive on behalf of StrongMail from January 7-9, 2013 among 2,166 online adults ages 18 and older, found that 67 percent of U.S. online consumers made a purchase from a retailer during the 2012 holiday season as a result of a sale or promotion. Of those who made a purchase from a retailer as a result of a sale/promotion this past holiday season, more than half (51 percent) said an email from a retailer influenced their purchase decision, followed by TV ads (45 percent), print ads (newspaper/magazine) (42 percent) and online advertising (33 percent).
Revenue-Hungry States Look at Taxing Ads
Desperate for cash, the governors of Ohio and
Minnesota are eyeing a tax on advertising. And even as agencies, broadcasters,
newspaper publishers and big advertisers prepare to push back, there is concern
that such moves could not only pass, but spread to other states and to the
federal level
2013 So Far
Reader’s Digest, staggering under $1.2 billion in debt, has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in four years. Rolling Stone owner Jann Wenner managed to stave off a bankruptcy filing of his own by refinancing $200 million of debt under spartan new terms.
And in the biggest news of all, Time Inc. is negotiating to spin off most of its magazines into a new company to be controlled by Meredith Corp. Held back from the deal will be Time magazine, Fortune and Sports Illustrated; Meredith is “said not to want them,” according to Michael Wolff.
Google's SVP on Advertising
http://www.businessinsider.com/google-just-described-its-incredibly-simple-plan-to-kill-print-advertising-2013-2#ixzz2LweCvwN5
Google svp/advertising Susan Wojcicki told Adweek how she sees ad dollars continuing to move out of traditional media in favor of online.
In response to a question about how Google chief business officer Nikesh Arora believes 50 percent of all ad spend will switch online in five years, she said she believed print would continue to be the preferred victim of that shift, as people stop buying magazines and papers because they already own tablets and iPads.
Google svp/advertising Susan Wojcicki told Adweek how she sees ad dollars continuing to move out of traditional media in favor of online.
In response to a question about how Google chief business officer Nikesh Arora believes 50 percent of all ad spend will switch online in five years, she said she believed print would continue to be the preferred victim of that shift, as people stop buying magazines and papers because they already own tablets and iPads.
Games of Thrones Runs Print Ad
HBO's Game of Thrones' Season 3 premiere is
just over a month away -- and the show does a spectacular job advertising just
how close that is with this two-page ad in Monday's edition of the New York
Times.
Retail Online Integration
Retailers of all types — brick-and-mortar,
internet, catalog and multichannel variations of the three — are facing the
same inventory challenges, yet still view their issues from the bias of their
primary channel.
I was reminded of this while attending the recent National Retail Federation (NRF) Convention. Marketers seem to be further along with embracing multichannel or omnichannel planning (we refer to it as "allchannel" at Direct Tech) than the operations side of retailing. Inventory planners, in particular, haven't fully embraced the new customer marketplace.
I was reminded of this while attending the recent National Retail Federation (NRF) Convention. Marketers seem to be further along with embracing multichannel or omnichannel planning (we refer to it as "allchannel" at Direct Tech) than the operations side of retailing. Inventory planners, in particular, haven't fully embraced the new customer marketplace.
New Jobs to Serve Modern Media
What are the most innovative and
important new job roles that are re-shaping the media world? As technology and
audience habits change, so do our professional functions.
So we asked our community to
name the most vital job titles in a modern media business and we added our own
suggestions to create the list below. And before anyone asks, it doesn't
include "head of growth hacking".
USPS Looks at Digital
The U.S.
Postal Service is dipping its toes into the digital waters, recently
announcing plans to embark on several digital initiatives, starting with the formation
of a new Digital Solutions Group (DSG) within its organization.
USPS Vice President of Digital Solutions Paul Vogel told customers at a recent meeting that the federal agency is considering how best to transition from the existing hybrid environment of physical and digital into a more digital role in the future.
USPS Vice President of Digital Solutions Paul Vogel told customers at a recent meeting that the federal agency is considering how best to transition from the existing hybrid environment of physical and digital into a more digital role in the future.
Economy Continues to Gain Traction
Economy Continues to Gain Traction: Last week: The U.S. economy is gaining some traction. The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® for the U.S. (a measure of where the economy is right now) rose in January for the third consecutive month. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for the U.S. (a signal of where the economy is headed near-term) also increased, suggesting the economy is building momentum, even as the federal government is about to face some serious spending cuts.
Chairman to Bid for Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Chairman to Bid for Chain’s Retail Business: The chairman of Barnes & Noble plans to bid for the retail business of the bookstore as the company struggles with a changing competitive landscape.
On Monday, Leonard Riggio told the company’s board that he would make an offer for Barnes & Noble Booksellers, barnesandnoble.com and other retail assets. The proposal would not include the e-book division, Nook Media.
On Monday, Leonard Riggio told the company’s board that he would make an offer for Barnes & Noble Booksellers, barnesandnoble.com and other retail assets. The proposal would not include the e-book division, Nook Media.
Standard Register Reports 2012 Results
Standard Register Reports Q4 Results, Reduces Loss: Standard Register, a leader in critical communications management solutions, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012. The Company reported fourth quarter 2012 revenue of $143.6 million and a net loss of $0.2 million or $0.01 per share. The results compare to 2011 fourth quarter revenue of $161.4 million and a net loss of $95.5 million or $3.28 per share.
HP Reports Q1 Results
HP Q1 Results Top Analysts Forecasts: HP today announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, 2013. First quarter GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.63, down from $0.73 in the prior-year period and above its previously provided outlook of $0.34 to $0.37 per share.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Wausau Paper Closing Brainerd Mill
Wausau Paper Announces Closure of Brainerd, MN, Mill: Wausau Paper (WPP) today announced the closure of the Company’s technical specialty paper mill in Brainerd, Minnesota, to occur early in the second quarter of 2013. The closure will affect approximately 130 employees.
Newton Falls Equipment Auctioned
Paper making machines and other
equipment inside the idled Newton Falls Fine Paper mill are going on the
auction block.
The century old paper mill
hasn't been operating since 2010, when close to 100 workers lost their jobs. Efforts to restart the mill fell through last August and the mill's owners, Scotia Investments, put the mill on the market.
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