The update also includes a 5.1 per cent reduction in earnings for 2015. This reflected costs associated with merger process, Hastings said. "We are a new company and we're merging three separate businesses into one."
NZME. was launched in September and included the APN NZ's newspaper publishing business, The Radio Network and digital business GrabOne.
There was significant new investment going into the digital side of the business, she said.
"We're looking at NZ$55m of annual revenue from digital and other growth channels next year so we're already getting runs on the board," she said.
The merger benefits would be expected to flow through into ebitda earnings in the 2016 year and beyond.
Hastings said feedback from the broker meetings had been positive and there was a feeling that the strategy made sense.
The biggest question was around why the company hadn't done this earlier, she said.
However the ownership structure was only now in the right place for it. APN purchased the remaining 50 per cent of The Radio Network in February this year and that had made the full merger of operations possible.
See today's announcement and presentation from NZME. here
NZME's 2015 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are expected to fall 5.1 per cent to $70.8 million, it said. Publishing Ebitda will drop 10.3 per cent to $46.4 million, as a decline in revenue from advertising and circulation offsets a pickup in digital and the benefit of a printing contract with Fairfax.
Radio ebitda would rise 5 per cent to $27.5 million, on rising advertising and digital sales, while e-commerce sales are forecast to be unchanged at $4 million.
Hastings said NZME. now had the systems in place to introduce a subscription model for its content but that was likely to be limited to targeted trials in 2015.
"There is no first mover advantage," she said. "NZME. will be ready to move in that direction when the market is ready and we have the right proposition."
It was important to think beyond just the New Zealand Herald and news content, Hastings said. NZME. would be looking broadly at the possibilities for membership, subscriptions and across all its content channels including music and entertainment.
Commenting on non-cash impairment to the mastheads APN News & Media group chief executive Michael Miller said: "It is the outcome of complex accounting models, which are required in Australia and New Zealand under international accounting standards.
"It does not impact on the future earnings of the business and it will not impact on the 2014 cash flow. It does not impact on shareholder value."
The write down affects the Herald and NZME's other newspaper titles.
- additional reporting Jamie Gray
