Fairfax Media posted a full-year loss of $893.5 million compared with a profit of $87.2 million in the previous year. The result was "primarily driven" by last week's $989 million write-down of publishing assets, according to Fairfax.
Fairfax's digital and other assets outside of its traditional print business will earn more than half of the company's earnings in the year ahead, said Fairfax's The Australian Financial Review:
"Driven by its real estate services business Domain, Fairfax Media's earnings from digital, including its mastheads online, such as The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, life & events and digital ventures such as Allure Media and Weatherzone, will account for 60 per cent of earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation, up from 42 per cent in the 2016 financial year."
"Clearly the Company is succeeding in creating additional revenue streams and building new businesses that leverage our inventory and large multi-platform audiences," said Fairfax chief Greg Hywood.
Hywood recently told investors that Fairfax Media's metropolitan publishing titles will move to a new publishing model in the future, with fewer print editions and a 24/7 digital newsroom.
"In Metro, as I spoke in detail about publicly in May, we are developing a new model with enhanced digital and targeted and differentiated print propositions. We have substantially reduced the risks associated with Metro through the removal of $400 million of annualised structural costs over the past four years.
"As at July 24, Metro had 209,000 paid digital subscribers across the SMH, The Age and The Australian Financial Review. Note this subscriber figure includes the Financial Review for the first time. All three titles delivered year-on-year growth," Hywood said.
"The publishing innovation taking place in Metro is as sophisticated as anything happening anywhere else in the world and will underpin its future. The public and market response to our plan has been positive as it reflects the realities of consumer demand and is leading the future of publishing in this country."