Page 32 - Print21 November-December 2021

2021 Review
Above Print takes a hit: The nation’s 6,500 clubs allowed to send notices by electronic mail rather than printed Above right Closed: Much of the Kiwi print industry in Level 4
non-print assets. Sales for the year were $442.7m, down by 18 per cent on last year’s $539.3m. Last’s year’s result was itself down by $130m, or 20 per cent on the prior year.
Large format digital printing pioneer Omnigraphics Australia upgraded its Fujifilm Inca Onset X3 to an HS version, almost doubling output from the high-speed wide format printer.
Profits at packaging giant Amcor were approaching US$1bn, with the company’s CEO Ron Delia signaling the company was looking at acquisition to drive further growth, as he described the year as “outstanding”. Amcor’s
full year revenue was up by 3.2 per cent to US$12.9bn.
The country’s
biggest print business,
IVE, performed better
than anticipated in
the financial year to
June, achieving a
$100.2m EBITDA on
revenue of $656m,
and was anticipating
strong growth next
year. Its EBITA,
excluding JobKeeper,
was $85.3m, its net
profit after tax was $30.2m (or $19.9m excluding JobKeeper).
Controversial Melbourne print business Maverick Print Group, which caused uproar in the Melbourne print community two years ago, and then changed its
name to MVP Print, went into voluntary administration. The printer was being run under licence by a third party.
Below Upgrading: Omnigraphics doubled the productivity of its Inca Onset printers
Below left Boosting production power: Printcraft installs a new HP Indigo
July
Leading Brisbane-based operation Printcraft installed a new HP Indigo 7K Digital Press, supplied by Currie Group, in order to boost its production power. The new HP Indigo succeeded the company’s existing HP Indigo, with the business also installing its second Horizon CRF-362 Creaser Folder.
The big ANZ print trade show PacPrint and associated shows Visual Impact and LabelExpo were postponed from this September to next June, in light of the ongoing Covid pandemic that was locking down large parts of Australia.
Ovato shareholders voted overwhelmingly to support the proposed sale of the retail distribution business to Are Media, and on a new $2.5m short- term loan from Are. The retail distribution business was formerly known as Gordon & Gotch, it distributes some 2700 magazines in Australia, and 1800 in New Zealand.
Print took a hit, with the nation’s 6500 clubs allowed to communicate AGM and other notices with their 15 million members through digital channels only, a move
which axed a swathe of regular print jobs. Until this point, clubs had been required to communicate AGM and other notices with their members on paper.
The New Zealand print industry had to largely close, with print that was directly necessary for the essential supply chain the only exception, as the country entered Level 4 lockdown. It would be five weeks before Auckland came out of Level 4 lockdown, while much of the rest of the country was only in it for two weeks. Auckland print businesses were losing their non-Auckland customers to non-Auckland printers.
August
Brunswick sign and display operation Complete Displays instigated a no jab no entry policy, with owner Bernie Casey explaining his rationale on the nation’s biggest breakfast TV show, Today, with host Karl Stefanovic. It became the first printer in the country to mandate no jab no entry, although News Ltd’s big Sydney print plant in Chullora went one step further soon after with no jab no work.
Print giant Ovato saw its revenue fall by $96.6m in the 2021 financial year, while losses improved by a third. The company still finished the year a whopping $67m
in the red. CEO James Hannan said the company was now pursuing a print-only strategy, and said that success will follow its actions, which have seen it shed all
Profitable: Amcor CEO Ron Delia says it is looking to acquire, as it approaches $1bn profit marker
32 Print21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021