Publishing group loses €3.3m in wake of recession
A media group that publishes the Letterkenny Post and Derry News suffered a multi-million euro loss in the teeth of the recession, it has emerged.
River Newspaper Holdings lost €3.3m in 2008, according to accounts just filed with the Companies Registration Office.
It also emerged that the company owed €6.9m to creditors, on current assets of €6.5m. But despite this, its directors are confident they can maintain the business.
"The current economic climate is challenging and the company is operating in a sector which is particularly recession-sensitive. The outlook for the company presents significant challenges in terms of sales," the directors note.
Despite the market's troubles, the directors said they had a "reasonable expectation that the company will have adequate resources to continue an operational existence for the foreseeable future".
Founded in 2005 by media veterans Padraig O'Dwyer and Tim Collins, River Newspapers is part of the River Media Group.
The business expanded rapidly during the boom, with the Inish Times, Monaghan Post and Cavan Post all opening between December 2006 and August 2007.
The crash has not been kind to the company, however. The Monaghan Post and Cavan Post both closed soon after opening, and the company's portfolio of newspapers was cut from 13 to the seven papers it now has.
In addition to newspapers, the group also owns Northwest radio station Ocean FM.
Neither Mr Collins nor Mr O'Dwyer could be reached for comment yesterday.
- Peter Flanagan
Irish Independent
