Full annual financial results for West Australian Newspapers Limited will be announced later today.

Forecasts for WA News range from a profit of $76.7 million, up to $81 million.

In three weeks, results will also come out for Rural Press (owner of stations in Queensland and South Australia) and Village Roadshow (majority shareholder in Austereo).

WA News publishes The West Australian and 19 regional newspapers, and already owns Redwave Media, Broadcasting as WAFM, RedFM and The Spirit Network throughout regional WA.

In late June, WA News posted a yearly high on the Australian Stock Exchange, touching $7.09 before a record close at $7.05, up 10¢.

The company is still being linked – with a number of operators – to negotiations with DMG radio to buy its regional stations. While rejecting the speculation, WA News does admit it is still interested in expanding outside its home state.

Managing Director, Ian Law, says the company casts its eye over many media assets, but is wary of overpaying for anything: “We are not in discussions with DMG, but that is not to say we don’t look at all media assets and options. It all comes down to price. We would look at a number of companies, just as a number of companies would look at us … everybody is looking at their options.”