Sir Anthony O'Reilly has called a halt to the period of rapid expansion that has seen the turnover of Independent News & Media increase by 600 per cent to #1.4 billion (£1.1 billion) over the last decade.
"It would be reasonable to assume that the hectic pace of investment, development, building and rebuilding is now behind us and that the fruits of consolidation will accrue to shareholders over the next five to 10 years," Sir Anthony told the company's annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday.
Although he did not rule out further acquisitions, the chairman told the meeting that the next three to five years "will be concerned with developing the opportunities that we have created and ensuring that the prudent investments of the past decades produce ever higher returns on capital".
Independent News & Media shares were trading at #2.55 yesterday, having halved in value over the last 12 months. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Gavin O'Reilly, the chairman's son and managing director of Independent Newspapers Ireland, told reporters the company had suffered from negative sentiment towards media companies.
Sir Anthony defended the group's multimedia investments, describing them "as prudent and investigative". He was upbeat on the outlook for 2001. "The Irish market remains extremely buoyant; South Africa and New Zealand are showing improvement," he said.
APN News & Media, the Australian group 40 per cent owned by Independent News & Media, yesterday announced the acquisition of a new Brisbane radio licence.
