* FY operating profit 75.5 mln euros vs 74.4 mln consensus
* CEO sees advertising down in mid-single digits in 2012
* Cuts costs by 11.3 pct, S. Africa better than expected
-analyst
* Shares fall 6 pct
By Lorraine Turner
DUBLIN, March 22 (Reuters) – Advertising spending by budget
supermarkets is helping to limit the impact of sharp falls
across the rest of the Irish advertising market, Independent
News Media said on Thursday after announcing a 9
percent fall in profit for 2011.
The Irish economy remains in the doldrums and there is a
little sign of a recovery in 2012, INM’s Chief Executive Gavin
O’Reilly told Reuters, adding that the publishing group achieved
a robust performance last year given the backdrop.
“The Irish consumer is hurting still. There is a lot of debt
in the marketplace, people are very unsure of their future…as
a result, advertisers are spending far less than they were
before,” O’Reilly said.
“There are one or two exceptions. The supermarket retailers
are spending pretty decisively. It’s Tesco, it’s Aldi,
it’s Lidl,” he added.
Continued…
