Novus shares tumble amid doubt over Media24 contract
The counter fell after it emerged that a printing agreement with Naspers subsidiary Media24 had to be renegotiated
Shares in Novus Holdings closed 7.1% lower at R6 on Friday as the company said that its new printing agreement with Media24 could result in a “substantial drag” on earnings. Once finalised, the new printing terms and conditions being negotiated “could have a substantial adverse impact on Novus earnings and headline earnings for the financial year commencing April 1”, Novus said in a statement. The negotiations were expected to be concluded in February, with the new printing arrangements becoming effective from April. Shareholders of Novus, which prints the newspapers and magazines of its erstwhile parent, Naspers, discovered in January that the printing group’s agreement with Naspers was tied to one individual, Lambert Retief, who died on January 25. This meant its printing agreement with Naspers subsidiary Media24 had been terminated and had to be renegotiated. Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk has said he is not optimistic about the future of print media or traditional television. “I do no...
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