INDEPENDENT NEWS & Media (IN&M) has postponed for a second time in two months the publication of its annual results for 2008, figures due for release ahead of a rapidly-approaching deadline to refinance a €200 million bond.

In a stock market notification issued shortly before 7pm yesterday, IN&M said results due for publication next Friday would not now be released until Thursday of next week, April 30th. A company spokesman declined to comment.

The latest postponement comes more than a month after IN&M put back the original publication date, March 31st, by almost four weeks. That development came as its biggest shareholders, long-time rivals Sir Anthony O’Reilly and Denis O’Brien, agreed to set aside their differences to work together in the interests of the company.

Sir Anthony retires as chief executive next month and will be succeeded by his son Gavin, INM’s chief operating officer since 2001.

As part of the pact between the two rivals, three of Mr O’Brien’s top lieutenants joined the slimmed-down IN&M board and Sir Anthony’s sons Tony jnr and Cameron were among 10 who left the board.

Efforts to refinance the €200 million note, which falls due next month, were widely held to be behind the latest postponement. With a further €590 million falling due next year, INM is likely to seek to extend the maturity of that debt.

Although it has been trying to sell assets to raise cash for a part-repayment of the bond, any proceeds are unlikely to be in place before the note matures.

As a result, it may have to resort to expensive bridging finance.

INM, whose shares have lost more than 87 per cent in the past year, has put its interests in online utility price comparison business Verivox and online casino software firm Cashcade on the market.

Last year it failed to sell its 39.1 per cent stake in Sydney-based APN News Media. A sale might have reduced its €1.4 billion debt to less than €600 million.