PRINTING AND PUBLISHING
Little relief in sight for Novus as woes keep piling up
Twelve months ago, it looked as though 2017 was going to be a tough year for print and publishing company Novus. As it happened, the year was a lot tougher than expected. The competition authorities forced Media24 to reduce its holding in Novus from just under 66% to 19% and the JSE forced it to reverse a January announcement relating to the crucial print contracts with Media 24 amid criticisms of unsound governance. In 2017, Novus wasn’t just having trouble with the regulators. As the year progressed, the company seemed to edge closer to the possibility of losing its valuable contract with Media24. Possibly more disturbing for its relatively new shareholders were the disappointing results from its tissue business and the less-than-exciting growth prospects for its label business. Analysts say the breadth of problems points to weaknesses at top management level. They say the group has not recovered from the controversial loss of key members of its top executive during 2016. That was...
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