W. Horton happy

Press, 24 July 1986, Page 28

W. Horton happy

PA Auckland It has been many years since Wilson and Horton, Ltd, has been so favourably placed to profit from the growth in the publishing and printing markets, the managing director, Mr Michael Horton, told the annual meeting yesterday. He hailed July as rather a momentous month for the company. It would have:

® Commissioned New Zealand’s most modem and productive colour magazine at Ellerslie, trebling capacity there.

® Completed the installation of new publishing gear for the "New Zealand Herald” to handle larger papers and expedite deliveries.

© Switched into the new computer system for "Herald” advertising to reduce phone delays and provide better customer service.

• Started production on a new forms press and dataform press to meet the demand for more colour and more specialty features on business and financial stationery.

Mr Horton said much of this expenditure had been incurred since balance date and connected with the

growth in Herald advertising volumes which again had outstripped resources. "These volumes are, week by week, the largest in Australia or New Zealand of many daily newspapers, including the well known 'Sydney Morning Herald’ and ‘Melbourne Age,’ and one of the world’s largest in volume.”

The Auckland-based commercial printing division had continued to trade well above last year’s figures in the face of a tightening market Mr Horton said UPP, the

Rotorua-based printer and publisher with interests throughout the lower half of the North Island, had continued its good performance, despite the downturn in the rural sector of the economy.

He said Wilson and Horton trading figures so far this year were slightly behind budget The chairman, Mr G. S. Blanchard, said that as a result of the final settlement of the Reuters float, the group now had a direct investment of $9.9 million in Reuters B shares