‘Press’ to split shares

Press, 18 June 1982, Page 16

‘Press’ to split shares

Tjie directors of The Christchurch Press Company, Ltd, are recommending to shareholders that the 100 c ordinary shares be split in to. 50c units, they announced in the annual report yesterday. Approval from shareholders to split the 2,813,594 issued fully-paid 100 c shares into 50c units will be sought at the annual meeting on July 15. The chairman (Mr A. A. Macfarlane) said that the annual audit by the Audit Bureau of Circulation confirmed that the circulation of “The Press” newspaper now exceeded 80,200 copies a day (compared with more than 79,900 last year). “Although this increase is rather less than in some recent years, it is satisfactory considering that the population of the newspaper’s circulation area remains virtually static,” he said. Advertising volume increased 5.7 per cent, the demand for space for classified advertising being particularly marked. “The share of available advertising market attracted to "The Press” has again increased in spite of the intense competition from television, radio, and ‘giveaway’ publications.” At the annual meeting last year shareholders were told that a. new press, a Goss Metroliner web offset machine that had been ordered from Rockwell Graphic Systems, Ltd, England, should be printing the daily paper before the end of 1982. Unfortunately, the installation of the press would now be delayed for some months, because of a serious accident to major components of the machine during shipment,

Mr Macfarlane said. Some of the machinery was off-loaded at Rotterdam in preparation for its storage below decks, and two of the printing units fell from a truck and were badly damaged. The units were returned to England and will be replaced by the manufacturer. “The delay is particularly unfortunate because the company’s present press cannot print, for a single issue of the paper, the number of pages needed to accommodate the news and advertising available. "Some Saturday pages have been regularly transferred to the preceding Friday or the following Monday issue, an expedient that will have to be continued until the (new) press is commissioned,” he said. The new printing-house behind the Gloucester Street frontage was completed last month, and the first consignments of parts for the new press began to arrive in. January. The company had been assured by the manufacuter that everything reasonable would be done to expedite the installation of the press with the minimum of delay. D. N. Adams, Ltd, the subsidiary company, continued to trade profitably. Improvements to the plant and fuller use of production capacity produced substantia] gains iu the printing market, which were reflected in the company’s profitability, Mr Macfarlane said. The company, made submissions to the Broadcasting Tribunal’s 1981 hearing on the development of FM radio. At this stage it had not been decided whether to apply for a broadcasting licence.