ASSJØFARTSTIDENDE OG HANDELS NORGES AS Norges Handels og Sjøfartstidene design: cox design print: rolf ottesen Grev Wedelsplass 9 PO Box 1182 Sentrum N-0107 Oslo Tel 47 22 00 10 00 Fax 47 22 00 10 10 www.nhst.no ANNUAL REPORT REPORT ANNUAL 2003 AS NORGES HANDELS OG SJØFARTSTIDENDE ANNUAL REPORT 2003 CONTENTS NORGES HANDELS- OG SJØFARTSTIDENDE 03 KEY FIGURES is one of Norway’s leading media houses, specialising in providing financial and business 11 REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS information. With the exception of IntraFish Media, the following companies are all 100% 15 PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT owned by NHST. 16 BALANCE SHEET 18 CASH FLOW ANALYSIS Dagens Næringsliv Upstream DN Nye Medier 19 NOTES is Norway’s largest business newspaper and was published for the first time on 4 November was established on 15 May 2000 to manage 27 AUDITOR’S REPORT distributes more than 70 000 copies nation- 1996 and is an English language newspaper the Group’s Norwegian news distribution wide each day. The newspaper was first and Internet service aimed at the international through new distribution channels. The 28 CONSOLIDATES ACCOUNTS published in 1890 under the name Norges oil and gas industry. It has a circulation of company publishes dn.no which, with its Sjøfartstidende. approximately 5 400 once a week. 248 0000 unique users and 6 million page MANAGEMENT’S REPORT displays each month, is the nation’s leading Nautisk Forlag IntraFish Media Internet service for the business community. 32 Dagens Næringsliv supplies charts, logs and maritime literature In the spring of 2001, AS Norges Handels og 34 Nautisk Forlag to the merchant marine, supply and fishing Sjøfartstidende acquired 59 per cent of the Europower vessels and the pleasure-craft fleet from its shares in IntraFish Media, which, since 1997, delivers news and analysis products to 35 TDN Nyhetsbyrå premises in Oslo. The company is the official has established itself as a leading media house participants in the Northern European energy 36 TradeWinds chart and publication agent for the British for the fisheries and fish-farming industries in market, mainly via the Internet. Admiralty, the hydrographic offices in Norway, Norway and abroad. With its focus on updated 40 Upstream Denmark and Sweden, and other publishers and reliable industrial news, the web site has NH&ST Asia Pte Ltd 43 Europower of maritime literature. helped raise the level of interest in the fisheries is the Asia sales office for TradeWinds and industry, and in particular in fish farming, Upstream. Unlike the sales offices in the USA 44 Intrafish Media TDN Nyhetsbyrå among new groups of readers. and UK, it has been established as a separate 46 Fiskaren is an electronic news service intended for company because of Singaporean legislation. the Norwegian financial market. Fiskaren 48 DN Nye Medier is a newspaper aimed at those involved in the TradeWinds Norwegian fishing industry. It has a circulation 50 ADDRESSES- AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS is an English language weekly newspaper of some 9 300 and is published three times a and Internet service aimed at international week. Fiskaren was first published in April shipping circles. In 2003, its average weekly 1923 and became a Group company in 1998. circulation was 6 987. In connection with the acquisition of the shares in IntraFish Media, Fiskaren was transferred to IntraFish Media as a subsidiary. [FRONT COVER] Olav Fjell resigns as Statoil´s CEO and Inge K. Hansen is appointing acting CEO. AS NORGES HANDELS- OG SJØFARTSTIDENDE DAGENS NÆRINGSLIV NAUTISK FORLAG TDN NYHETSBYRÅ TRADEWINDS UPSTREAM INTRAFISH MEDIA DN NYE MEDIER EUROPOWER [100%] [100%] [100%] [100%] [100%] [59.39%] [100%] [100%] GJENSIDIGE’S GRAND OLD MAN, 89-YEAR-OLD ERIK STURE LARRE, IS THE COMPANY’S LARGEST PRIVATE SHAREHOLDER AND ALSO THE PERSON FISKAREN [100%] WHO IS TO CHAIR THE GENERAL MEETING OF GJENSIDIGE NOR THAT WILL DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS TO BE A MERGER. GROUP FIGURES (NOK 1000) 2003 2002 2001 2000 KEY FIGURES 2003 Operating income 569 333 581 785 623 118 612 234 Operating profit 11 163 2 930 (3 220) 46 709 Profit before taxes 17 614 (2 473) 2 506 62 304 Profit for the year 11 519 (3 273) (4 343) 42 482 OPERATING INCOME GROUP [NOK Million] Net operating margin (%) 2.0 0.5 (0.5) 7.6 Net profit margin (%) 2.0 (0.6) (0.7) 6.9 800 Profit ratio (%) 3.5 2.0 0.2 10.6 Total assets 288 157 287 244 315 933 421 662 600 Investments 11 694 20 185 22 967 23 599 400 Equity ratio (%) 29.4 31.2 33.3 34.9 Return on total assets (%) 6.9 3.9 2.0 15.6 200 Liquidity ratio 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.3 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 Employees Number 431 448 459 400 Man-years 408 429 436 403 PROFIT BEFORE TAXES [NOK Million] DAGENS NÆRINGSLIV (NOK 1000) 2003 2002 2001 2000 80 Operating income 354 894 371 188 418 957 449 390 Operating profit 35 613 37 336 50 265 113 534 60 Profit before taxes 41 105 46 404 61 539 124 469 40 Profit for the year 29 424 33 525 43 870 89 341 20 Net operating margin (%) 10.0 10.1 12.0 25.3 Net profit margin (%) 8.3 9.0 10.5 19.9 0 Profit ratio (%) 11.7 12.6 14.8 27.8 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total assets 156 372 161 850 183 169 242 465 Investments 1 190 10 455 12 146 11 969 Equity ratio (%) 32.7 34.1 32.4 25.5 Return on total assets (%) 26.1 27.2 29.1 48.0 GROUP TURNOVER 2003 Liquidity ratio 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 DN 62% Nau 7% Volume TDN 2% Advertising volume (in 1000 pages) 3.3 3.2 3.0 3.3 TRA 10% Circulation (in 1000 papers) 69.3 70 72.2 71.4 UPS 8% IFM 7% DNNM 3% Employees EP 1% Number 181 192 201 186 Man-years 170 181 186 190 Definitions Net operating margin Operating profit x 100/Operating income Equity ratio Total equity x 100/Total assets Net profit margin Profit for the year x 100/Operating income Return on total assets Operating profit + financial income x 100/Average total assets at 1.1 and 31.12. Profit ratio Profit before tax + financial expenses x 100/Operating income Liquidity ratio Current assets /Short-term liabilities THE US SOLDIERS OF THE 101ST AIRBORNE AND ASSAULT DIVISION, ALSO CALLED THE SCREAMING EAGLES, AT CAMP PENNSYLVANIA IN KUWAIT MAKE ONE LAST PHONE CALL HOME. ÅSNE SEIERSTAD ON A BRIEF VISIT TO A BOOK FAIR IN FRANKFURT. NORWAY’S MINISTER OF LABOUR AND GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION, VICTOR D. NORMAN, TALKS ABOUT THE NEW COMPETITION ACT. THE FINNMARK ACT IS INTENDED TO REGULATE LEGAL RELATIONS AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES IN FINNMARK. THE BILL HAS CREATED CONFLICT AMONG THE LOCAL POPULATION. TOR ERLING STAFF, SUPREME COURT ADVOCATE – “NORWEGIAN OUTSIDERS” THE GENERAL MEETING OF AKER KVÆRNER IN 2003 – YNGVE HÅGENSEN WEARING DONALD DUCK SOCKS. REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2003 The Norges Handels og Sjøfartstidende position, the goal has always been the cent. Editorially speaking, DN continued the fourth quarter was better than the third Group (NHST) made a profit before tax same: – every publication is to be the big- to make a very strong impression in 2003. and the newspaper has a satisfactory order and adjustments for minority interests of gest and best in its market segment. This Following an 11 per cent reduction in reve- reserve for 2004. TradeWinds’ developments MNOK 20.7 in 2003, compared to a profit therefore applies whether the publication nue in the first quarter, revenues flattened vary slightly from country to country, with of MNOK 1 in 2002. The Group achieved is a Norwegian business publication or a out slightly, falling by just under 4 per cent a slight recession in Norway and the UK a profit after tax of MNOK 8.4, compared global, industry-related one. in the fourth quarter. For the year as a whole, but sound growth in Greece and China. to a loss of MNOK 6.8 for the preceding revenues amounted to MNOK 354.9, com- This also reflects trends in international year. This improvement is due to both Through a number of cost measures and pared to MNOK 371.2 in 2002. A survey shipping and will affect how TradeWinds operational factors, in that the operating efficiency enhancement programmes, NHST conducted by TNS Norsk Gallup showed allocates its resource. TradeWinds is now costs were cut by 4 per cent, and financial has reduced its operating costs at the same an increase in readership figures from positioned for moderate growth in 2004 items. The operating profit came to MNOK time as the position of NHST’s publications 271,000 to 284,000 on weekdays. Average and, new to this year, will include confe- 11.2, compared to MNOK 2.9 in 2002. in the market has never been stronger. circulation figures fell slightly from 69,722 rence activities, starting with a shipping The revenue fell from MNOK 581.8 in Recent developments have shown that the in 2002 to 69,262 in 2003. The circulation conference in Shanghai at the end of 2002 to MNOK 569.3 in 2003. This strategy of combining an improvement in trend has also been for a decline in the first February. decline in revenue is mainly due to poorer market position with cost-efficiency measu- half-year to flatten out in the second half- advertising sales and the effects of a res has produced moderate improvements year.