Telstra’s directories arm, Sensis, says revenue will fall for the next three years but it plans to address a slide in print advertising with a greater array of digital products.
While rising digital usage was already countering the falls in print, converting that into revenue growth remains a challenge for Sensis, chief executive Bruce Mr Akhurst said.
‘‘It will be a period of time before the full benefit of our digital growth kicks into the financials,’’ he said. ‘‘We expect Sensis to return to organic revenue growth in about three years, where digital growth in revenue in dollar terms will exceed the decline in print revenue.’’
The publisher of the Yellow Pages and White Pages on Tuesday briefed analysts and media on its plans to further expand into digital marketing.
The company, owned by Telstra, reported an 18 per cent fall in adjusted revenue from its Yellow Pages print operations in the six months to December 31.
Mr Akhurst said the number of consumers using the print version of Yellow Pages was falling and clients were reducing the size of their print ads.
As a result, Sensis has forecast mid single-digit declines in revenue and high single-digit declines in earnings for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 financial years.
The company this week began marketing a range of new online products to drive digital revenue growth, offering customers ways of marketing their businesses through online directories, websites and mobile devices.
‘‘No one can package holistic advertising solutions and take them to market like Sensis,’’ Mr Akhurst said. ‘‘Print, online, voice, mobile, iPads, T-Box etcetera, means we can package a true cross-platform solution for SMEs (small and medium enterprise), and that means more reach more easily for them.’’
Sensis says the new approach will produce a rise in customer numbers, higher digital sales, and increased value of its packages sold in the coming years.
March 29, 2011 – 4:24PM
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