ASX asks APN to please explain trading spike

APN has today responded to an ASX query about large volumes of shares being traded just a couple of weeks before the company reports its final year result. The company has a market capitalisation of $720 million and turnover of $650 million, with significant radio assets in Australia and New Zealand.

Company Secretary Yvette Lamont responded to the query saying there was nothing out of the ordinary going on that had not already been reported to the market, but noted that most media shares have been very volatile lately. She also reminded the ASX that the company has recently announced that Independent News and Media intends to remain a significant shareholder in the company following a strategic review.

The statement also says:


“On November 7… expectations were for net profit to be around the lower end of equity analysts expectations (at that time $148 million). The results for this year are still being finalised… but the company expects any variance to be approximately 5%.”

She also notes that restructuring costs of $20 million will fall within the 2008 financial year results.

APN shares in the last five days have traded as high as $1.60 and as low as $1.42, with nearly 5 million shares changing hands. The stock at lunch time today was trading at $1.53.