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NZME Limited

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FY2023 Annual Report · NZME Limited
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NZME LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT 
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

KEEPING  
KIWIS  
IN THE  
KNOW

2 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

C O N T E N T S

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 3

C O N T E N T S

66. Consolidated Financial Statements

121. Independent Auditor’s Report

27. Climate Related Disclosures

10. Financial Commentary

50. Corporate Governance

60. Statutory Disclosures

48. The Executive Team

44. 2023 Awards

46. The Board

126. Directory

14. Our Sustainability Commitment

4 . 2023 Financial Results Summary

5. Division - Key Metrics

6. Chairman’s and CEO’s Report 

This annual report is dated 20 February 2024  
and is signed on behalf of the Board of Directors by:

Barbara Chapman

Carol Campbell

Chairman

Director

4 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

2023 FINANCIAL 
RESULTS 
SUMMARY

$346.6m

$56.2m

Operating Revenue1

2022 $364.6m

Operating EBITDA1

2022 $64.7m

$12.2m

Statutory NPAT

2022 $22.7m

$14.1m

Operating NPAT1

2022 $23.3m

7.7cps

Operating EPS1

2022 12.1cps

6.0 cps

Final Dividend

Payable on 20 March 2024

$17.3m

Operating Free Cash flows

2023 $14.8m

$18.0m

Net Debt 

2022 $17.5m

1 Operating results presented are non-GAAP measures that include the impact of NZ IFRS 16, however, exclude exceptional 
items to allow for a like for like comparison between 2022 and 2023 financial years. Please refer to pages 38-39 the NZME 
2023 Full Year Results Presentation for a detailed reconciliation.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 5

DIVISION  
- KEY METRICS 

10

Audio brands

1.9 million

#1 Station

Terrestrial  
audience1

and breakfast show 
Newstalk ZB1

1.3 million

Digital audience2

37.5%

43.1%

NZME radio brand  
audience market share1

NZME radio revenue  
market share for 20233

22

2.3 million

222,000 

Print publications across  
New Zealand

Digital Audience 4

Subscribers across  
print and digital6

1.8 million

55.7%

47.2%

Print audience 5

NZME print readership 
market share 4

NZME print advertising  
revenue market share  
for 20237

12

889,000

5%

Real estate  
publications

OneRoof  
brand audience 4

Increase in total digital 
revenue year-on-year6

606,000

89%

Average Q4 monthly 
audience on  
oneroof.co.nz5 

Of Nationwide residential  
for-sale real estate 
listings8

43.6%

Listings upgrades  
in Auckland6

O
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1 GfK RAM, Commercial Radio, Total NZ 4/2023, M-S 12mn-12mn, M-F 6am-9am, Share %, Cume 000, AP10+.  2 Adswizz 
monthly reach Jan-Dec 2023 (monthly average). 3 Radio Broadcasters Association Radio Market Report, rolling 12-month 
average to 31 December 2023. Note: excludes independent broadcasters, contra revenue, and digital audio. 4 Nielsen 
Consumer Media Insights Service (CMI), Q4 22 – Q3 23 Online Fused Nov 2023 People 15+. OneRoof reach of property 
visitors (property visitors=unduplicated audience of oneroof.co.nz, trademe.co.nz/property, homes.co.nz & realestate.
co.nz). 5 Nielsen Online Ratings as of Dec 2023 AP15+ (excludes APP). 6 NZME Analysis. 7 PwC NPA quarterly performance 
comparison report, Q1 2023 – Q4 2023. Note: report excludes any publishers that are not part of the NPA. 8 OneRoof’s 
listings as a percentage of residential for-sale real estate listings on trademe.co.nz. Dec 2023 monthly average. 

6 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CHAIRMAN AND 
CEO REPORT

We are pleased to present New Zealand Media and Entertainment’s Annual 
Report for the year ended 31 December 2023

In 2023 we continued our focus on achieving the targets 
we set for our three year strategy in 2020. We are pleased 
to report that we achieved the majority of our targets albeit 
a number of the financial based targets were impacted by 
the tough economic environment in 2023.

Like many companies, NZME’s financial results in 2023 
were impacted by challenging operating conditions both 
in New Zealand and globally. Business confidence was 
low for the majority of the year with confidence moving 
to positive in the last quarter. Consumer confidence 
continues to remain at subdued levels. In addition, 
inflationary pressures and higher interest rates made for 
a tough operating environment for many New Zealand 
businesses. Given this environment, NZME has performed 
well, adapting to the challenges and continuing to develop 
its digital products alongside its radio and print platforms. 

Financial Results – Highlights

For 2023, the operating EBITDA1 was $56.2 million which 
was 13% lower than 2022. Statutory net profit after tax was 
$12.2 million which was lower than last year’s $22.7 million. 
As a result the operating earnings per share was 7.7 cents.

The tough operating environment impacted the demand 
for advertising, which together with a weaker real estate 
market resulted in NZME’s Operating Revenue and other 
income being 5% lower than last year. 

Our continued focus on disciplined cost management 
and adapting our business resulted in a 3% reduction in 
operating expenses.

Our relentless focus on growing our digital business has 
led to digital revenues exceeding $100 million per year, 
or 29% of total revenue. We continue to drive this growth 
through our central objective to deliver on our digital-led 
strategy across our three key platforms – Audio, Publishing 
and OneRoof. 

1 Operating results presented are non-GAAP measures that include 
the impact of NZ IFRS 16, however, exclude exceptional items to 
allow for a like for like comparison between 2022 and 2023 financial 
years. Please refer to pages 38-39 of the results presentation for 
a detailed reconciliation. 2 Radio Broadcasters Association Radio 
Market Report, rolling 12-month average to 31 December 2023.  
Note: excludes independent broadcasters, contra revenue, and 
digital audio. 3 Nielsen CMI Fused Q4 22 – Q3 23 Nov 2023 AP15+ 
(Total NZME = monthly NZME print, weekly NIMS, Weekly Radio  
GfK Fused S3 2023 and monthly online fused. Publishing Digital  
= nzh.co.nz & driven.co.nz. Publishing Print = monthly print excl  
Real Estate. OneRoof Print = Real Estate sections.)

NEW ZEALAND’S 
LEADING AUDIO 
COMPANY

Create New Zealand’s  
best local audio 
content

Grow broadcast and  
digital reach

Grow market revenue 
share and digital 
revenue

NEW ZEALAND’S 
HERALD

The #1 News brand for  
all New Zealanders

Subscriber  
first

Be a safe, scalable 
destination for 
advertisers

YOUR COMPLETE 
PROPERTY 
DESTINATION

Strengthen core 
residential listings 
business

Be indispensable  
to agents

Expand the portfolio

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 

Our audience and nationwide 
reach remains extremely strong 
- every month, NZME engages 
with more than 3.5 million people 
across New Zealand, reaching  
85% of Kiwis aged 15+.

Audio

While radio advertising revenue 
declined by 2% off the back of a 
6% overall market decline, NZME’s 
radio market revenue share2 
reached 43.1% - the highest since 
measurement began in 2016.

Despite difficult market 
conditions, NZME continued to 
grow its digital audio business, 
growing digital audio by 23%.  
This reflects the strength of 
NZME’s leading digital audio 
platform – iHeartRadio and NZME’s 
podcast network, with podcast 
revenues growing 54%. NZME has 
also led New Zealand’s podcast 
rankings for 29 consecutive 
months, with average monthly 
downloads over 10 times that of 
our closest competitor.

with our strong entertainment 
brands supports continued 
improvement of our audio 
profitability.

Publishing 

We continued to evolve our 
Publishing division in 2023, 
investing in our digital publishing 
platform and a new ‘business 
of journalism’ operating model. 
This saw us focus on growing 
our digital news business further, 
which is now a sustainable 
and profitable part of NZME, 
supporting journalism for future 
generations. 

Our print business complements 
our digital news business and 
under a new operating model 
we are confident that print will 
deliver strong cash flows for 
NZME well into the future.

Publishing subscriptions reached 
222,000 in 2023 – up from 
209,000 the year prior. This 
includes 130,000 digital only 
subscriptions which is up from 
113,000 last year.

NZME is gaining real traction on 
its leading podcast position in 
New Zealand which will drive 
future digital revenue growth. 
Our strong position in news, 
politics and business together 

OneRoof

The OneRoof business is now 
demonstrating its potential as 
it continues to grow revenue, 
reaching the scale that will 
be the tipping point for it to 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 7

be profitable. We continue to 
reduce the audience gap with the 
number one player in market. 

OneRoof grew its digital revenue 
by 5% year on year, despite a 
12% reduction in new residential 
real estate listings coming to 
market. This was achieved 
through improved listing upgrade 
conversion rates across the 
country and improved yield.

With a clear business strategy  
in place to grow OneRoof, it is 
well set up for strong delivery  
of revenue and profitability  
into the future. 

Evolved our Key Strategic 
Priorities

In November 2023 NZME 
released its revised three-year 
strategic priorities across its 
Audio, Publishing and OneRoof 
divisions. The strategy is 
digital-led and focused on 
delivering superior returns 
across the business.

The three new strategic 
priorities are to be:

•  Number One in Audio

•  New Zealand’s leading  

news destination

• 

Your essential property 
platform

8 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NUMBER ONE IN AUDIO

NEW ZEALAND'S LEADING 
NEWS DESTINATION

YOUR ESSENTIAL  
PROPERTY PLATFORM

Create the most 
listened to and  
loved content

Deliver customer 
solutions to grow 
revenue share

Grow podcast 
engagement and 
monetisation

Scalable digital 
audience and 
advertising news 
platform

Expert journalism 
that grows subscriber 
lifetime value

High quality and 
efficient print 
business

Superior listings 
experience and 
performance

Grow listings  
revenue

Accelerate non-
listings product 
revenue

Number One in Audio

NZME’s Audio business includes 
its many radio brands, digital 
audio platform iHeartRadio,  
and its high-performing podcast 
network. 

The newly released strategic 
priority to be ‘Number One in 
Audio’ includes a strong focus  
on three key pillars:

•  Create the most listened  
to and loved content

• 

Deliver customer solutions  
to grow revenue share

•  Grow podcast engagement 

and monetisation

New Zealand’s leading news 
destination

NZME’s Publishing business 
covers its digital platforms 
including NZ Herald Premium, 
BusinessDesk and VIVA Premium, 
as well as its national, regional 
and community print products.

The newly released strategic 
priority to be ‘New Zealand’s 
leading news destination’ 
includes a strong focus on three 
key pillars to deliver:

• 

• 

Scalable digital audience 
and advertising news 
platform

Expert journalism that grows 
subscriber lifetime value

Your essential property 
platform

The OneRoof division includes 
the OneRoof digital property 
platform together with all of 
NZME’s dedicated real estate 
publications.

OneRoof's newly released 
strategic priority is to be ‘Your 
essential property platform’, and 
includes a strong focus on three 
key pillars:

• 

Superior listings experience 
and performance

•  Grow listings revenue

• 

Accelerate non listings 
product revenue

We believe this renewed strategy 
sets us apart from our competitors 
and it is focused on delivering 
strong returns for shareholders. 

Our Audio business has 
significant opportunities that 
are already improving our 
profitability, in Publishing we 
are currently investing in our 
digital publishing platform and 
a new business of journalism 
operating model, and OneRoof 
is at a tipping point and we 
are confident that significant 
shareholder value can be created 
from the very large profit pool 
that it operates in.

Capital Management

•  High quality and efficient 

print business

NZME is focused on delivering 
value for shareholders and we are 

pleased to have made distributions 
to shareholders over the past year 
of $16.5 million comprising of:

• 

• 

2022 final dividend of  
6 cents per share; total  
$11.0 million.

Interim dividend of 3 cents 
per share; total $5.5 million.

Net debt remained at the low end 
of the target leverage range at 
$18.0 million, $0.5 million higher 
than last year.

The Board remains committed 
to returning excess capital to 
shareholders, subject to the 
operating environment and 
investment opportunities.

Outlook

There are positive signs for 
2024, with January and February 
advertising revenues pacing 
ahead of last year, business 
and consumer confidence on 
upward trends, and a recovering 
real estate market. However, 
sentiment among market 
commentators remains one of 
economic uncertainty and no 
clear consensus on the outlook.

Despite the challenging 
environment, we are pleased with 
the continued growth in digital 
across our Audio, Publishing 
and OneRoof businesses, and 
we are well-positioned to deliver 
improved results as market 
conditions improve. 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 9

We remain conscious of 
continued cost pressures across 
our business and will focus 
on substantially mitigating 
these through disciplined cost 
controls.

NZME prides itself on our high 
value relationships with our 
3.5 million strong audience3, 
as well as the huge number of 
advertising customers across 
multiple platforms, reaching 85% 
of the New Zealand population 
across a month.

We believe our revised strategy 
sets NZME up for strong delivery 
of revenue and profitability 
growth, and our balance sheet  
is strong when compared to  
local competitors.

The Annual Shareholders’ 
Meeting is scheduled for 11 April 
2024, and we look forward to 
providing a progress update on 
our strategic priorities.

Conclusion

Our central key objective is to 
relentlessly pursue a digital led 
strategy across our three key 
platforms. Globally, we know 
these digital centric businesses 
are valued at much higher 
multiples than print peers.  
This digital first focus will set us 
apart from our competitors and 
drive returns for shareholders. 
However, we are also focused  
on maximising the Print revenues 
that will continue to provide 
substantial earnings well into  
the future. 

Thank you to the NZME Board, 
the Executive team and team 
of 1,200 at NZME for their hard 
work, loyalty and commitment 
during what was another 
challenging year. NZME is well 
set up for future growth, and 
with signs of improvement in the 
market, we are confident 2024 
will be a successful year. Thank 
you to you all for continuing to 
deliver value for our people, our 
audiences, clients, customers, 
and our shareholders.

Barbara Chapman 
Chairman

Michael Boggs 
Chief Executive Officer

10 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

FINANCIAL 
COMMENTARY

Financial Results

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Given the difficult operating and economic 
environment, Statutory NPAT for 2023 was  
$12.2 million, compared to last year’s $22.7 million.

Operating EBITDA1 was $56.2 million in 2023 which 
was 13% below last year. Operating Revenue1 was 
5% lower in 2023 at $346.6 million, compared to  
the  2022 operating revenue of $364.6 million. 

Operating Expenses1 were $290.4 million,  
a reduction of 3% due to:

- 

- 

People costs were 3% lower than 2022 as 
a result of improved efficiencies and lower 
incentive payments offsetting inflationary 
pressure on salaries and wages.

Print and Distribution costs were 1% lower year 
on year with higher distribution costs offset by 
lower volumes.

-  Content costs were 4% higher due to increased 

activity and increased licence costs.

-  Other expenses were flat overall with lower  
IT costs offsetting other cost increases. 

NZME’s Operating NPAT1 for 2023 was $14.1 million, 
resulting in an operating earnings per share of  
7.7 cents.

Net debt increased by $0.5 million to $18.0 million 
as at 31 December 2023 with strong operating cash 
flows despite lower earnings, offset by distributions 
to shareholders. 

Working capital excluding cash increased by  
$0.2 million as a result of:

- 

- 

- 

Lower receivables and payables reflecting  
the impact of reduced operating revenues

Inventories decreasing due to reduced  
paper stock. 

Reducing tax payable due to lower earnings.

Cash flows from operations for the year was  
$41.5 million, which is higher than 2022 due to a 
reduction in the amount of tax paid during the year.

Capital expenditure was $11.0 million, a similar level 
to 2022 ensuring the continued development of 
key digital products in order to progress our digital 
transformation.

Plant property and equipment, intangibles  
and other non-current assets decreased due to 
depreciation and amortisation exceeding capital 
expenditure. Right of Use assets reduced in  
line with the reduction in lease liabilities as the  
terms reduce.

1 Operating results presented are non-GAAP measures that include the impact of NZ IFRS 16, however, exclude exceptional 
items to allow for a like for like comparison between 2022 and 2023 financial years. Please refer to pages 38-39 the NZME 
2023 Full Year Results Presentation for a detailed reconciliation.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 11

AUDIO

The audio division encompasses NZME’s radio 
brands as well as its digital audio platform 
iHeartRadio.

Total audio revenue was $113.6 million in 2023 
which was similar to 2022 despite what has been 
a weaker trading environment. Pleasingly digital 
audio revenue continued to grow and was 23% 
higher than last year at $8.4 million.

NZME grew radio revenue market share to 
43.1% year on year, with audience share 
remaining similar at 37.5%. Newstalk ZB 
continues to be New Zealand’s number  
one commercial radio station supported  
by leading entertainment audio brands.

Podcasting is an important part of the audio 
growth strategy at NZME, and we have led the 
New Zealand podcast ranker for 29 consecutive 
months, with the average monthly downloads 
over ten times its closest competitor.

RADIO BROADCAST CONSUMED DIGITALLY

NZME has a diverse digital audio content 
offering including digital streaming of its radio 
stations, catch up radio podcasts, original 
owned podcasts, partner podcasts and 
international content available on iHeartRadio.

NZME won six of the eight premier awards 
at the 2023 NZ Radio Awards including 
NewstalkZB for Network Station of the Year, 
ZM’s Fletch, Vaughan and Hayley for Best Music 
Network Breakfast Show, and Newstalk ZB’s 
Mike Hosking for Broadcaster of the Year.

Digital Audio Revenue $m
-50% CAGR

)

m
$
(
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v
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R

9.0

8.0

7.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

-

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

AUDIO PLATFORM

RANK

PODCAST  
REPRESENTATIVE3

2023 2022

% 
CHANGE

DIGITAL ONLY AUDIO CONTENT

1

2

3

NZME 

rova (MediaWorks)

LISTNR (SCA)

7.3

0.6

0.4

5.4

0.5

0.2

35%

28%

76%

3 Triton NZ Podranker, Sales Representation category

 
 
12 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

G
N
I

H
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P

The Publishing division 
includes NZME’s digital  
news and journalism products 
including NZ Herald and 
BusinessDesk together with  
its print publications. 

Total publishing revenue was 
$209.6 million in 2023 which 
was 7% lower than 2022. 
Reader revenue was down 
4% with digital subscription 
revenue 4% higher offset by 
lower print reader revenue. 
Digital only subscriptions 
increased from 113,000 last 
year to 130,000 while total 
publishing subscriptions 
reached 220,000 in 2023  
– up from 209,000 the  
year prior. 

Publishing advertising 
revenue was impacted by the 
tough operating environment 
with print advertising 
revenue down 13% and digital 
advertising revenue 8% lower 
than last year.

During the year the Publishing 
division was re-organised 
into separate digital and 
print units creating a truly 
digital first model. Content 
is produced for digital 
publication first and then 
separately curated for the 
various print publications.

Source: NZME Analysis

Digital Publishing Revenue $m
-6% CAGR -85% CAGR

Advertising revenue

Reader revenue

)

m
$
(
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80.0

70.0

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0

10.0

0

250

200

150

100

50

0

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Subscriptions Mix
Digital Entitled

Print Only

Digital Only

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PUBLISHING 
DIVISION

L
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Content produced  
for digital publishing
Revenue from 
subscribers and 
advertisers
Costs include all 
content costs 
exclusing specific 
print related curation 
and production

B
U
H
T
N
I
R
P

Content from digital 
journalism curated  
into print publications
Revenue from print 
subscribers and 
advertisers
Costs include only 
those required to curate 
digital content into print 
products and print and 
distribution costs

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 13

ONEROOF

The OneRoof division includes the OneRoof 
digital property platform together with all of 
NZME’s dedicated real estate publications.

Digital OneRoof Revenue $m
-40% CAGR

12.0

10.0

)

m
$
(
e
u
n
e
v
e
R

8.0

6.0

4.0

2.0

-

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

OneRoof Digital Residential for-sale 
Listings Upgrade %

Auckland 2023
Rest of NZ 2023

Auckland 2022
Rest of NZ 2022

55%
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
-

OneRoof revenue (print and digital) was $20.8 
million for 2023 which was 9% lower than 2022 
as a result of a very weak real estate market. 
Despite this OneRoof digital revenue grew 
by 5% now representing more than half of 
OneRoof’s total revenue.

OneRoof digital revenue growth was achieved 
through increased listings upgrade conversions 
rates together with improved yield on upgraded 
listings. Conversion rates were up to 44% in 
Auckland and 20% for the rest of New Zealand 
by the end of the year.

OneRoof monthly audience continued  
to strengthen with the gap to Trade Me 
property audience closing over the year.

OneRoof Monthly Audience

i

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600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

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1 Nielsen Online Ratings monthly average Jan 20 - Dec 2022 AP15+ (excludes APP). 2 NZME Analysis

1 NZME Analysis. 2 Nielsen Online Ratings - Domestic Unique Audience, Dec 2021 – Dec 2023 (does not include exclusive 
mobile app audience).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

OUR SUSTAINABILITY 
COMMITMENT

At New Zealand Media and Entertainment, we're committed to making  
a positive impact for our communities, our people and playing our part  
in protecting the environment. We have a responsibility to protect the  
craft of journalism and broadcasting, keeping Kiwis in the know.

In 2024 we released our 
Sustainability Commitment. 
The new commitment also 
incorporates NZME’s climate 
related disclosures, which  
are covered on page 27 of  
this report.

As a media and entertainment 
business we connect and 
empower our communities, 
provide a workplace that 
fosters innovation, engagement 
and inclusion and we take 
our responsibility to the 
environment seriously.

We are committed to reducing 
and mitigating our impact as a 
business on the environment 
and we are focused on 
utilising our platforms to grow 
community connections and 
engagement on local and global 
environmental issues.

We provide a workplace that 
fosters innovation, engagement, 
and inclusion through promoting 
a healthy, diverse and safe 
workplace. We are relentlessly 
focused on developing our people 
and continue to champion and 
protect the craft of journalism  
and broadcasting.

Our communities, our 
customers and our audience of 
more than 3.5 million people 
motivates our teams every 
day. We strive to connect and 
empower our communities 
across NZME's platforms, as New 
Zealand’s largest multi-media 
company. This includes ensuring 
we provide diverse, balanced, 
quality and trusted news and 

that we facilitate conversations 
about the topics that matter 
most to New Zealanders.

NZME’s sustainability 
commitment measures against 
the UN Sustainable Development 
Goals – an international blueprint 
to achieve a better and more 
sustainable future for everyone. 
We also benchmark our efforts 
against global sustainability 
standards, industry trends, and 
our media peers both in New 
Zealand and internationally. 

We believe NZME’s sustainability 
commitment assures the 
prosperity of our business to 
deliver value for our people, our 
customers, audiences and our 
shareholders, well into the future. 

CASE STUDY: ELECTION 2023  
NZME’s election coverage provided a comprehensive and balanced 
narrative across our newsrooms. The synergy of in-depth analysis, real-time 
updates and diverse perspectives in the build up and on election night, 
engaged New Zealanders across the country.

PICTURED: CYCLONE GABRIELLE  
In February 2023, New Zealand’s North Island was 
subject to extreme weather events, which had a 
huge impact on people, homes, businesses, and 
infrastructure. NZME kept impacted communities 
in the know through continual news updates 
and the distribution of a free special edition of 
Hawke’s Bay Today containing vital Civil Defence 
and public health information. 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 15

We are committed to protecting the craft of journalism and broadcasting to keep Kiwis in the know. 

OUR COMMUNITIES

OUR PEOPLE

OUR ENVIRONMENT

We connect and empower our
communities

We provide a workplace that fosters
innovation, engagement and inclusion

We accelerate awareness and
drive meaningful action on
environmental issues

RESPONSIBLE
REPORTING AND
BROADCASTING

CONNECTING
COMMUNITIES

PROMOTING A
HEALTHY, DIVERSE
AND SAFE
WORKPLACE

CHAMPIONING
THE CRAFT AND
DEVELOPING OUR
PEOPLE

REDUCE AND
MITIGATE OUR
IMPACT

GROW
CONNECTION AND
ENGAGEMENT

NZME’s sustainability programme is aligned to the guidelines set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals
- an international blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for everyone.

16 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

PICTURED: HERALDS OUR HEROES 2023 
It’s a proud tradition that goes back to 1991.  
At the end of each year the New Zealand Herald 
nominates Our Heroes across news, sport, 
business and entertainment, honouring the 
men and women who the NZ Herald believe 
deserve the widest possible recognition. 

OUR COMMUNITIES

We connect and empower our communities.

NZME is deeply involved in our communities, and as one  
of New Zealand’s largest media companies we will facilitate 
conversations about the topics that matter to Kiwis, and we 
continue to partner with charitable organisations throughout  
the year. We are proud to provide quality, trusted, diverse  
and balanced journalism and entertainment right across  
our platforms.

CASE STUDY:  
WHAT THE ACTUAL?! 
In response to Gen Z’s growing 
preference for social and 
digital news formats, NZ Herald 
launched What the Actual?! in 
April 2023 – a new and unique 
social media brand aimed at 
keeping Kiwi youth in the know on 
the issues that matter most to them. 
Published across TikTok, Instagram 
and YouTube, What the Actual?! delivers 
easily consumable, video-led content 
covering the biggest breaking stories, 
current events, sports, entertainment, 
social justice and political news.

CASE STUDY:  
MENTAL AS ANYTHING 
Mental As Anything is a 
podcast series hosted by 
Radio Hauraki Day Show 
host Angelina Grey, inspired 
by the fact that the global 
pandemic has seen a 25% 
increase in anxiety and 
depression worldwide. 

INITIATIVE

PROGRESS

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 17

RESPONSIBLE REPORTING  
AND BROADCASTING

Through best practice 
broadcasting and journalism, 
we will provide a diverse and 
balanced reporting platform, 
promoting the law and holding 
the powerful to account.

CONNECTING COMMUNITIES

We are deeply involved in our 
communities and as one of 
New Zealand’s largest media 
platforms we will facilitate 
conversations about the topics 
that matter to Kiwis.

Where justified in the interests of freedom of expression, open justice  
and holding the powerful to account, NZME invests in legal challenges  
to suppression, take down orders, access to court files and other media 
law challenges. In 2023 NZME participated in 13 legal challenges, some  
of which involved continued investment in opposing or appealing  
to the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. In 2023  
NZME continued with the Open Justice Project, which which covers  
local court cases. 

NZME strives to adhere to our Editorial Code of Ethics and the principles 
and standards of the NZ Media Council and the Broadcasting Standards 
Authority (BSA). 

Regulator

Number of Upholds

BSA

2022

Nil

Media Council

Three upheld

2023 

1

Nil

We have maintained our commitment to our communities through the 
presence of local journalists and broadcasters. We employ 565 journalists 
and broadcasters nationwide. 

We increased diversity of content and contributors across our platforms  
in 2023 including: 

•  Kea Kids News – News made for kids, by kids, hosted on  

nzherald.co.nz

•  No Such Thing As Normal – 10-part podcast series discussing 

Neurodiversity

• 

• 

12 new cadets entering the award-winning Te Rito programme

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) events, including  
Te Reo Māori news bulletins and content, podcasts and video  
content across our platforms

•  M9 - Supporting the showcase of unique perspectives in celebration 
of events such as Te Matatini, Matariki and Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori

• 

Transgenerations – Trans Kiwi young and old tell their stories

•  NZME continued its media partnership with Auckland Unlimited  
across major summer cultural festivals including Diwali, Lantern 
Festival and Pasifika.

In 2023 we have championed and supported charitable causes, 
providing support to:

NZ Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, The Funding Network of New 
Zealand, Big Clash Cricket Charity Match (Un Ltd), Good Impressions – 
GoMedia, Liam Patterns Newsprint supply, Music Helps, Cystic Fibrosis 
NZ, Bowel Cancer Awareness, Mindful Fashion Circular Design Awards, 
Blue September, Women’s Refuge (Shielded Initiative), Variety New 
Zealand, Salvation Army (The Hits’ Fill the Bus Rotorua), Tauranga Food 
Bank (The Hits BOP Christmas Movie in the Park), Breast Cancer Cure 
(Callum and P’s 600 minutes for 600 lives).

18 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CASE STUDY:  
CYCLONE GABRIELLE RED CROSS APPEAL  
NZME helped raise $13 million through the NZ 
Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund following Cyclone 
Gabrielle, and helped Aotearoa prepare for, respond 
to, and recover from future disasters following 
flooding events.

NZME also made $1 million in advertising support 
available to support businesses that were impacted 
by the weather events themselves, or that were in a 
position to help those that had been impacted. 

CASE STUDY:  
600 MINUTES  
FOR 600 LIVES 
The Hits Dunedin 
Breakfast Show 
hosts Callum Proctor 
& Patrina Roche 
participated in 
Breast Cancer Cure 
New Zealand’s 600 
Minutes for 600 Lives 
campaign, walking 
around the Octagon as 
many times as possible 
for 600 minutes (10 
hours) to raise funds and 
awareness.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 19

CASE STUDY:  
NO SUCH THING AS NORMAL, 
funded by NZ on Air, is a 10-part 
series that aims to help listeners 
better understand those living with 
neurodivergence. It is believed that  
at least 20 percent of New Zealanders 
live with neurodivergence, but there  
is little awareness or support for people 
with conditions such as ADHD, autism  
and dyslexia.

CASE STUDY:  
WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A LEADER 
The world is changing, New Zealand is 
changing and, in response, a new style of 
leadership is emerging among Māori women. 
Te Ropu Poa, Rena Owen, Dr Maria Baker, 
Hūhana Lyndon and Tui Shortland are all 
at the top of their game. Jenny Ling spoke 
with them to discover what drives them to 
succeed and make Aotearoa a better place. 

CASE STUDY:  TRANSGENERATIONS  An eight-part web series tells the stories of transgender Kiwis from their late 70s to early 20s, documenting the history of trans experience in New Zealand and dispelling stereotypes about who trans people are. 20 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

OUR PEOPLE

We provide a workplace that fosters innovation,  
engagement, and inclusion.

PICTURED:  
EQUIPPING OUR PEOPLE  
The first intake of DevelopMe 
launched in 2023, designed to 
deliver vibrant and exceptional 
leadership across NZME. 

Initiatives to support and 
promote mental health and 
wellbeing included new 
neurodiversity workshops 
and continued support from 
our Employee Assistance 
Programme.

CASE STUDY:  
TE RITO JOURNALISM CADETSHIP  
In 2023 we welcomed 12 new  
cadets into the award-winning  
Te Rito programme, a media  
industry partnership which  
aims to inject the industry with 
voices that better reflect our  
diverse communities. 

NZME is committed to being 
an employer of choice and in 
2023, finished the year with an 
Employee Net Promoter Score 
within the top 10% of consumer 
media businesses globally. 

Through the work of NZME’s 
Diversity and Inclusion 
Committee, NZME continues 
to support and celebrate a 
calendar of events, alongside 
DevelopMe, a new leadership 
programme to create vibrant 
and exceptional leadership 
across NZME. The first intake for 
the programme has commenced 
with the second intake due to 
start in 2024. 

AGE GROUP

CONTRACT TYPE

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 21

65+
5%

<24
10%

55-64
15%

PART TIME
9%

CASUAL
13%

CONTRACTOR
4%

25-34
24%

45-54
22%

35-44
24%

FULL TIME
74%

GENDER / LEVEL

F M

45%

55%

STAFF

52%

57%

48%

43%

40%

60%

PEOPLE 
LEADERS

EXECUTIVE

BOARD

LENGTH OF SERVICE (YEARS)

300 FTE

200 FTE

100 FTE

0

< 1 Y

1 -2 Y

3 - 5 Y

6 - 10 Y

11 - 20 Y

21 - 30 Y

31 Y +

ETHNICITY

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

European

Māori

Indian

Chinese

Other Asian

Pacific Peoples

Other Ethnicity

Middle Eastern / Latin American / African

Undeclared

22 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

OUR PEOPLE

INITIATIVE

PROGRESS

PROMOTING A HEALTHY, 
DIVERSE AND SAFE 
WORKPLACE

We will embed a high 
performing health and safety 
culture and will regularly report 
on our performance. We will 
strive for a collaborative and 
welcoming place to work that 
celebrates diversity. We will 
adopt and strengthen policies 
for the promotion of gender 
equality.

With 35 sites across New Zealand, we have implemented new 
procedures to ensure health and safety requirements are being 
applied consistently across all our offices. EY conducted a thorough 
audit of NZME’s health, safety and wellbeing processes. There were 
no significant rated observations found as part of this audit and all 
recommendations within the report will be implemented in 2024.

The Diversity and Inclusion Committee hosted a calendar  
of events including:

• 

• 

Pink Shirt Day supporting a culture free from bullying,  
harassment, and discrimination

International Women’s Day Panel Event

•  Chinese New Year and Chinese Moon Festival

• 

• 

Lunar New Year celebrations 

Auckland Rainbow Parade, Whangarei Proud Parade  
and NZME Bright Shirt Day for Pride

•  New Zealand Sign Language Week 

• 

Rainbow Tick accreditation and workshops supporting  
a LGBTQ+ inclusive workplace

•  Matariki (marking the beginning of the new year in the Māori  

lunar calendar) and Pasifika celebrations 

• 

• 

Tongan Language week

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori language week) 

•  NZ Mental Health Week 

• 

Unconscious Bias Training through our partnership  
with Diversity Works NZ

•  Wellness Week 

• 

Diwali (Festival of Light) celebrations

•  Wellbeing Week – with support from TELUS Health (formerly 

Benestar) and focus on mental health, women’s and men’s health.

NZME supports initiatives that reduce the gender pay gap and 
eliminate gender inequalities across the business and continues 
to closely monitor relevant data points across the business to hold 
leaders accountable and ensure continued progress with diversity, 
inclusion and reducing inequities.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 23

INITIATIVE

PROGRESS

PROMOTING A HEALTHY, 
DIVERSE AND SAFE 
WORKPLACE

Continued

We are striving for diversity at Board, Executive and People  
Leader levels.

In 2023, for gender, we have at Board level F60%:M40% (2022: 
F60%:M40%), at Executive level F43%:M57% (2022: F30%:M70%)  
and for our People Leaders F48%:M52% (2022: F50%:M50%).

At Board level for ethnicity, all members identify as European (2022: 
all members identified as European) and at Executive level 14% 
identifying as Chinese and 86% as European (2022: 9% identifying 
as Chinese and 91% as European), and for our People Leaders we 
have 85.3% (2022: 86.5%) European, 7.8% (2022: 8.1%) Māori, 3.5% 
(2022: 3.1%) Indian, Chinese 1.3% (2022: 1.8%) and 2.1% (2022: 0.5%) 
identifying as other ethnicities. 

NZME supports flexible working for diverse needs and/or shared 
responsibility in the household. Policies and initiatives in 2023 to 
support this included surveying our people to understand what  
was important to them. 

NZME had 38 interns and cadets (2022: 26) across our newsrooms  
in 2023.

CHAMPIONING THE CRAFT

We will ensure we are 
mentoring the next generation 
of journalists and broadcasters. 
We will develop our people to 
maintain and grow the craft.

A total of 299 hours (2022: 247 hours) of media law and regulation 
training was undertaken by our journalists and broadcasters at NZME 
in 2023, with a focus on BSA training due to updated codes. This 
training which was made widely available. 

Refer to page 44 for our Awards list celebrating the talent and 
commitment of our people. 

NZME has completed the first year of the new DevelopMe leadership 
programme with cohort one, with cohort two beginning in 2024. 

24 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

OUR 
ENVIRONMENT

We accelerate awareness and drive 
meaningful action on environmental issues. 

NZME is committed to operating  
sustainably and to minimising our 
environmental footprint.

NZME is pleased to commence reporting 
through the new climate-related disclosure 
framework as prepared by the External 
Reporting Board (XRB). NZME has engaged 
specialists to support the development of 
its emissions inventory and understand its 
climate risks, opportunities, and impacts. 
NZME will implement an environmental 
roadmap, to assess and reduce our 
environmental footprint.

We benchmark our efforts against global 
sustainability standards, industry trends,  
and our media peers both here in  
New Zealand and internationally.

PICTURED: TOITU CERTIFICATION  
In 2023, NZME’s print operations in 
Ellerslie, Auckland were awarded the 
Toitu enviromark gold certification 
(NZME has attained gold level 
certification since 2011). 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 25

INITIATIVE

PROGRESS

Reducing waste across NZME continues to be a strong focus, with a 
reduction of 14% or 3.0 tonnes in general waste compared to 2022. We 
have also reduced the number of bins and the bin size for general waste.

NZME focuses on recycling, separating our internal waste streams – 
including paper, food and green waste, and recyclables to optimise value 
and reduce our environmental impacts. We have recycling facilities in 
place through major offices. NZME also supports Recycling Week.
NZME has committed to no longer purchase or lease any further  
diesel vehicles and has ordered only hybrids for all new fleet cars  
since late 2022, replacing old cars with hybrids as their leases expire.  
The number of fleet cars has also reduced from 151 to 130 during 
the 2023 round of lease renewals. NZME has reduced our company 
vehicle carbon emissions by 42% year on year.

REDUCE AND MITIGATE  
OUR IMPACT 

We are addressing our 
environmental risks and 
opportunities by reducing 
and mitigating the impact of 
our products and processes, 
collaborating with our suppliers 
on the solutions and disclosing 
our performance.

• 

• 

• 

We have continued to focus on reducing our environmental impact  
at our print plant in Ellerslie: 
•  NZME’s print operation maintains the Toitu Enviromark Gold 
certification – demonstrating our focus on reducing waste, 
operating efficiently, and minimising harm to the environment. 
NZME has attained gold level certification since 2011.
The Waste Committee and the Plastic Reduction Project drove 
initiatives across both production and distribution teams at our 
Ellerslie print plant. NZME has further optimised production, 
leading to a reduction of 16% or 7.8 tonnes of plastic year on year. 
In 2023, 29 tonnes of general waste was removed from the print 
plant; this was a reduction of 25% from 2021.
Plastic usage reduction has also been a success. Year-on-year 
plastic usage is down, primarily from optimising bundle sizes. 
We are also testing alternatives to plastic for the small number 
of papers that need to be individually bagged, which includes 
looking at corn starch and potato starch alternatives.
The Ellerslie print plant developed the capability to unload paper 
deliveries direct from Auckland Port. Previously this activity was 
completed at Tauranga Port with paper then road freighted to 
Ellerslie. The change has led to a 75,000km a year reduction in  
road freight. 
Route optimisation for our delivery and bulk freight network has  
seen a reduction in travel year-on-year of 65,803 kms. We have  
also invested in geospatial routing software and we have a small 
skilled team responsible for ensuring our operation is as efficient  
as it can be.

• 

• 

•  NZME has invested in new Kodak platemaking technology and 
plates, leading to the printing plate making process now being 
chemical free.

•  NZME has reduced our forklift fleet, replacing several forklifts  

with more environmentally friendly models, including investing  
in an electric forklift.

NZME continues to work with our suppliers and partners to ensure our 
operations are best practice. We introduced a Responsible Sourcing 
Policy, which sets out the minimum standards that all suppliers, direct 
or indirect, and approved sub-contractors, are expected to comply 
with to do business with us. NZME has also developed and issued 
a Modern Slavery Statement, which explains how we proactively 
manage and mitigate the risk of modern slavery, including forced 
labour and other severe worker exploitation.

26 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

OUR ENVIRONMENT

INITIATIVE

PROGRESS

GROW CONNECTION AND 
ENGAGEMENT

We facilitate/accelerate 
environmental awareness and 
engagement by presenting the 
facts across our media platforms 
and by cutting the jargon to 
make it easier for people to 
understand environmental 
issues and take meaningful 
action.

NZME uses its many platforms to cover environmental issues impacting 
New Zealanders including carbon emissions, weather events, and 
climate change.

The NZ Herald online has a dedicated section online for environmental 
news. This content hub brings together sustainability content created 
by NZME's leading lifestyle brands and amplifies these important 
messages through various NZME channels to empower, inform, and 
inspire Kiwis with messages of sustainability they can take into their 
everyday lives. 

In 2023, New Zealand experienced significant weather events, with 
Cyclone Gabrielle in February leading to several deaths and widespread 
damage and destruction to the Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay regions. As 
well as using our platforms to keep communities informed, as reported 
earlier in this report, we produced content that looked at the reasons for 
such weather events from a climate perspective and how communities 
can mitigate the impact of such weather events.

The NZ Herald continues to take part on Covering Climate Now  
– a global news media initiative. The NZ Herald and NZME’s other  
news platforms continue to cover environmental and climate change 
related issues. 

CASE STUDY:  
THE NEW NEW ZEALAND: REBUILDING BETTER  
An NZME project focused on ways New Zealand  
can rebuild its economy and recover socially after 
the COVID-19 pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, 
protests, and winter of discontent. As part of  
the 2023 editorial series, the Herald investigated  
the state of crime in NZ and the solutions available  
to address it.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 27

CLIMATE- RELATED 
DISCLOSURES

We take our responsibility to the environment seriously.

CLIMATE RESILIENCE – INTRODUCTION
As the world grapples with the multifaceted 
challenges posed by climate change, media plays 
a pivotal role in shaping public awareness and 
fostering informed discussions. Our responsibility 
extends beyond reporting the news to actively 
contributing to the collective understanding of 
climate change, advocating for sustainable practices, 
and inspiring positive action by walking the talk.

• 

• 

The environmental pillar within our Sustainability 
Commitment recognises the material part we can 
play in addressing climate change and to support 
New Zealand's transition to a low carbon economy. 
We are focused on reducing and mitigating our 
own impact, and accelerating Kiwis awareness and 
engagement on environmental issues. 

• 

• 

NZME is a climate-reporting entity under the 
Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Our inaugural 
climate related disclosures on pages 27 to 43  
cover our progress between 1 January 2023 and  
31 December 2023 and comply with the Aotearoa 
New Zealand Climate Standards issued by 
the External Reporting Board. All figures and 
commentary relate to the full year ended  
31 December 2023, unless otherwise indicated.

In preparing its climate-related disclosure,  
NZME has elected to use the following  
adoption provisions:

Adoption provisions 1 and 2: Current 
and anticipated financial impacts – while 
quantitative data is not provided, a qualitative 
description of the current and anticipated 
financial impacts has been provided.

Adoption provision 3: Transition planning  
– a description of our progress towards 
developing our transition plan can be found  
on page 39 – positioning ourselves for a low 
carbon future.

Adoption provision 4: Scope 3 GHG emissions 
– our scope 3 emissions will be reported in our 
second climate disclosure next year.

Adoption provision 6: Comparatives – we 
provide two years of comparative data and 
analysis of trends for our scope 1 and 2 
greenhouse gas emissions only.

Figure 1 summarises our journey to date in 
understanding and managing our climate related 
issues. This work provides a foundation for NZME to 
establish and embed good practice in addressing 
climate change issues across governance, risk 
management and strategy, and in establishing 
metrics and targets to measure our progress now 
and into the future. 

28 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CLIMATE-RELATED 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

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ntific
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e
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Tra
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n
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mis
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e
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d 2
n
e 1 a

p
o
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S

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

Figure 1: Our climate disclosure journey – 2023 progress

GOVERNANCE
Board oversight

NZME's Board is responsible for oversight of 
climate-related risks and opportunities. Climate-
related opportunities are reflected in the Group’s 
Sustainability Commitment. The Board Charter 
stipulates that a key function of the Board is to 
ensure the Group’s health and safety, environmental 
and operational practices and culture comply 
with legal requirements and that the Group’s 
Sustainability Commitment reflects best practice 
and is recognised by employees and contractors as 
key priorities for the Group. 

The material climate-related risks and opportunities 
identified by the business are presented annually to 
the NZME Board, following an annual review against 
current trends and scenarios. Climate change 
and sustainability is a standing agenda item at the 
Board Audit & Risk Committee’s meetings to ensure 
progress on management actions in these areas is 
monitored and discussed. 

During 2023, the NZME Board engaged in training 
and education to ensure it has in place the 
appropriate skills and competencies to provide 
oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities. 
This included engaging external experts to provide 
climate knowledge-building across the Board, 
and using Chapter Zero resources and tools to 
develop capability. Board climate capability is also 
established through experience on Boards of other 
climate reporting entities, including:

• 

Barbara Chapman through her roles with 
Genesis Energy Limited (Chair), Fletcher 
Building Limited (Director) and Bank of New 
Zealand (Director);

•  Carol Campbell through her roles with NZ 

Post Limited (Chair) and T&G Global Limited 
(Director); 

• 

David Gibson through his roles on Goodman 
Property Trust (Deputy Chair), Freightways 
Group Limited (Director) and Contact Energy 
Limited (Director).

The Board intends to integrate climate change 
into its skills matrix and recruitment process. 
The People, Remuneration & Nominations 
Committee of the Board is responsible for making 
recommendations to the Board in relation to the 
composition of and nominations to the Board. 
Climate-related skills and competencies will in 
future be included in this assessment.

The Board reviews NZME’s overall strategy and 
progress against its strategic priorities annually with 
the Executive management team. As part of this 
process the Executive team and the Board consider 
risks and opportunties, including climate-related 
risks and opportunities, across the business and 
how those risks and opportunites shape NZME’s 
strategy and impact the setting and achievement  
of its strategic priorities.

NZME’S 2023 climate metrics and targets include 
its Scope 1 and 2 emissions and associated targets. 
These have been reviewed and signed off by the 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 29

Board and emissions progress will be monitored six 
monthly as part of the Board risk review process. 

Climate-related performance metrics are not 
currently incorporated into remuneration 
policies. However, the People, Remuneration 
and Nominations Committee of the Board is 
tasked with setting and reviewing remuneration 
policies and practices of NZME to ensure they are 
consistent with the company’s strategic goals 
and incorporated into short-term and long-term 
incentives where appropriate. As part of this on-
going responsibility the Committee will consider 
how to incorporate climate-related performance 
metrics for relevant roles.

Management’s role

Climate-related responsibilities have been 
assigned to management level positions that 
have an accountability for identifying, managing, 
and reporting climate-related issues. The 
Climate-related Disclosure Working Group 
(“CRD Working Group”) was formed in 2023 and 
includes the following members of the Executive 
management team: the Chief Executive Officer, 
the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer 
and the Chief People Officer; and also senior 

representatives from across the company. This 
group provides tactical and specialist support with 
the identification and management of climate-
related issues and reports through to the NZME Risk 
Committee. The CRD Working Group undertook 
climate training and scenario analysis in 2023, 
with the resulting work presented to the Executive 
management team and Board in July. The Chief 
Financial Officer engages with the Board and the 
Board Audit & Risk Committee at each meeting on 
NZME’s climate-related progress.

The Executive management team and the CRD 
Working Group (reporting through the Risk 
Committee, chaired by the CFO) review the material 
climate-related risks and opportunities six monthly. 
The output of this assessment is integrated into 
NZME’s risk register, emissions management 
planning, strategy, budgeting, and external 
reporting. The Executive management team 
monitor progress on tactical activities to address 
climate-related risks and opportunities. 

Figure 2 illustrates the integration of climate-
related responsibility between the Board, Executive 
management team, risk committee and the CRD 
working Group.

30 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CLIMATE-RELATED 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

Figure 2: NZME’s climate-
related governance structure

BOARD

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM

CLIMATE-RELATED RISK WORKING GROUP

NZME’s Board are responsible for overseeing the implementation and execution of 
NZME’s Sustainability Commitment and climate-related activities. They convene 
at least six times per year and receive recommendations from the Audit & Risk 
Committee, gain insights, review, and ensure proper implementation of internal 
control mechanisms and risk management process for good climate-related 
governance.

The Executive management team members have the highest management-level 
responsibility for identifying, assessing and managing climate-related issues. 
Supported by the risk committee (chaired by the CFO) they report to the Board, 
including through its Committees, on the climate-related impacts on the business and 
are responsible for implementing the strategic response and monitoring the overall 
risk exposure of NZME. They ensure that the CRD Working group receive appropriate 
organisational support to contribute to establishing a framework and process for the 
inclusion of climate-related impacts in the enterprise risk management program and 
strategic implementation.

Made up of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer 
and Chief People Officer, alongside subject area experts and roles with a specific 
responsibility for coordinating and implementing NZME’s climate-related activities. 
The CRD working group includes pan-organisation representation, including portfolio 
managers, operations, culture & performance, finance, strategy, procurement, 
risk and compliance. Coordinated by the CFO, they meet as required during the 
year and report progress to the risk committee, who in turn report to the Executive 
management team.

Board of Directors

Executive 
management team

Climate- related 
disclosure working 
group (“CRD 
working group”)

STRATEGY

This section covers current climate impacts, 
anticipated financial impacts and how these  
will be integrated into our planning.

Current physical and transition impacts and 
financial impact.

The current financial impacts resulting from NZME’s 
current physical and transition impacts have been 
described qualitatively in Table 1 below. These 
were identified by initially evaluating the areas of 
NZME which were impacted and then assessing 
the impact on expenses, revenues, assets and 
liabilities. The materiality of the financial impact 
was determined by considering its associated value 

within a range, where Low = < $0.5 million;  
Med = $0.5 - $1 million; High = >$1, million.

Some financial impacts could be reasonably 
quantified. However, other impacts are more 
difficult to quantify, for example, increasing 
audiences - due to the challenge in attributing this 
impact directly to climate-related opportunities 
rather than other business campaigns to drive 
audiences. As part of its updated Sustainability 
Commitment, NZME is establishing metrics to 
monitor audience uptake of climate-related content, 
which may support the financial quantification of 
this impact in future.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 31

Table 1: NZME’s current (2023) climate-related impacts 

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

Financial 
impact

Level of 
financial 
impact

Extreme weather events - 
Auckland floods (Jan 2023) and 
Cyclone Gabrielle (Feb 2023)

Physical risk

•  Disruption to distribution of 

Expenses

Low

printed publications to affected 
regions; 

•  Increased reliance/dependency 

Expenses

Low

of communities on AM/FM 
as the most reliable mode of 
communication;

•  Damage to company property 

Expenses

Low

disrupting services;

•  Business disruption - Staff 

Expenses

Low

unable to access workplace 
and journalists unable to access 
affected regional offices; Events 
cancelled in affected regions;

•  Increase in public awareness for 
news coverage of flood/cyclone 
events, focused content 
development to meet audience 
needs and demands.

Revenues & 
Expenses

Low

Management response

Full review conducted in wake of these weather events. Actions included increasing resiliency in AM/FM network, 
improving Business Continuity processes and mitigations.

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

Financial 
impact

Level of 
financial 
impact

Legislative reporting 
requirements - Inaugural NZ 
Climate Standard disclosure

Transition 
risk

•  Enhanced costs/time/capability 

Expenses

Low

requirements to ensure 
reporting obligations are fully 
met.

Management response

External consultants engaged to support capability development and implementation of disclosure requirements.

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

Shifting consumer preferences 
and new market opportunities – 
e.g. 2023 media industry move 
to net zero focus (AdNetZero), 
potential increased interest in 
climate-related journalism

Transition 
opportunity

•  Continued focus on NZME’s 

Scope 1-3 emissions 
measurement and responsible 
sourcing;

•  Climate-related risk/opportunity 
lens to overlay current plans/
monitoring of impact of NZME’s 
media platforms – print, digital, 
terrestrial radio, digital audio;

•  Focused content; development 
on weather events and climate 
change in order to continue 
Keeping Kiwis in the know. 

•  Increase in client / advertiser 
interest in being aligned with 
or sponsoring informative, 
educative, positive climate-
related content.

Management response

Continue to monitor consumer media platform preferences and impact. 

Increase content covering climate and environment.

Financial 
impact

Level of 
financial 
impact

None

None

None

None

None

None

Revenues

Low

32 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CLIMATE-RELATED 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

Scenario analysis
In May 2023, the CRD Working Group engaged 
external consultants to support our scenario 
analysis. 

In developing the scenarios the representative 
concentration warming pathways (“RCPs”) 
established by the Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate Change (“IPCC”) 6th assessment and the 
Shared Socio-economic Pathways (“SSP”) scenarios 
relevant for New Zealand were adapted to our 
industry and entity. We analysed three different 
scenarios: 

1. 

a deep decarbonisation scenario, which 
assumed the conditions under SSP1-1.9 and 
RCP 2.6 (average warming of 1.4 degrees C  
by 2100); 

2.  a status quo scenario, which assumed the 

conditions under SSP2-4.5 and RCP 4.5 
(average warming of 2.7 degrees C by 2100); 
and 

3.  a carbon intensive scenario, which assumed 
the conditions under SSP5-8.5 and RCP 8.5 
(average warming of 4.4 degrees by 2100). 

The New Zealand reference data was overlaid to 
these scenarios, to develop detailed narratives and 
parameters to evaluate climate-related risks and 
opportunities. Our methodologies and assumption 
disclosures below provide more detail on the 
scenarios analysed.

Climate training was conducted followed by three 
scenario assessment workshops. These workshops 
focused on identifying the material risks and 
opportunities under these three scenarios, testing 
the resilience of our strategy and discussing 
the management response required to address 
risks or harness opportunities. We undertook 
initial heatmapping of the financial impact of our 
identified risks and opporutnities, with a view to 
quantifying the financial impact of material risks and 
opportunities in the future.

We are now conducting transition planning that will 
leverage the learnings from the scenario analysis 
process and this includes developing our emissions 
reduction plan, quantifying the financial impacts 
and the longer term implications to our core 
business model and strategy.

Methodologies and assumptions

The details of each scenario narrative can be found 
in Figures 3.1 – 3.3. The scenarios were developed 
to illustrate the nature of risk which might plausibly 
emerge as a result of climate-related physical and 
transition risk to 2100. We evaluated the most 
ambitious and worst-case scenarios, to ensure that 
we stress tested all material risks or opportunities 
that might plausibly eventuate in the years to 2100. 
Taking this conservative approach also allows us 
to consider an environment where the physical 
impacts escalate much faster than anticipated, 
and/or the corresponding transitional impacts  
are put in place more rapidly, and to test our ability 
to respond. 

The scenarios considered time horizons out to the 
end of this century (2100), supported by source 
data on the key trends over this period including: 
Temperature change (IPCC 6th Assessment report; 
NIWA); Flooding (Ministry for the Environment 
National Climate Risk Assessment 2020); Sea 
level rise (NASA); Population growth (Shared 
Socio-economic Pathways); Regulatory/Policy 
(Shared Socio-economic Pathways); Technology 
(International Energy Agency); Transportation 
(Ministry of Transport); Mitigation vs Adaptation 
efforts (McGuinness Institute).

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 33

Figure 3.1  
Deep decarbonisation  
scenario parameters

DEEP 
DECARBONISATION

Immediate, sustained 
decarbonisation driven 
by ambitious policies 
and high technological 
innovation, resulting in 
net zero global emissions 
around 2050.

NZ Temp change: 2025

NZ Temp change: 2090

Reference scenarios

SSP1 / RCP 2.6

Warming at 2100  
(IPCC 6th Assessment; NIWA)

1.4 oC

Sea level rise at 2100  
(NASA)

0.44m (NZ average)

Flooding – sea and pluvial 
inundation 
(MFE National Climate Risk 
Assessment 2020)

High risk zones sustained: 
Canterbury (Christchurch City; Waimakariri District); Whakatane District 
(Edgecumbe; Matata); Otago (Dunedin City District (inc Sth Dunedin); 
Waikato/ Coromandel (Hauraki District; Thames)

Population growth  
(SSP)

Regulatory / Policy 
(SSP)

Technology 
(IEA)

Low

Regulation promotes sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas 
emissions.  
Government prioritises environmental protection and sets ambitious 
targets for transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Policies promote 
energy efficiency, support renewable energy deployment, and 
incentivise sustainable practices in industry, agriculture, and 
transportation. Policies also focus reducing social and economic 
inequalities, such as minimum wage regulations, universal healthcare 
coverage, and social welfare programs.

Focus on renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and 
sustainable practices. Increased investments in clean technologies, 
such as solar, wind, and hydropower, as well as advancements in energy 
storage, electric vehicles, and smart grid systems. Efforts would be 
made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition away from 
fossil fuels.

Transportation 
(MOT)

Strong investment in public transport for passenger transport, 
scaling up of walkways and bikeways

Efforts to mitigate vs adapt  
(McGuinness Institution)

Low challenges to mitigation and adaptation. Strong investment in 
mitigation early on, enabling a reduction in effort by mid-late century

34 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CLIMATE-RELATED 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

Figure 3.2  
Status quo  
scenario parameters

STATUS QUO

Current policy, 
social, economic and 
technological trends 
continue. The rate 
of increase in global 
emissions begins to 
decline post 2050.

NZ Temp change: 2025

NZ Temp change: 2090

Reference scenarios

SSP2 / RCP 4.5

Warming at 2100  
(IPCC 6th Assessment; NIWA)

2.7 oC

Sea level rise at 2100  
(NASA)

Flooding – sea and pluvial 
inundation 
(MFE National Climate Risk 
Assessment 2020)

Population growth  
(SSP)

Regulatory / Policy 
(SSP)

Technology 
(IEA)

0.59m (NZ average)

High risk zones slowly worsening – access to insurance becoming 
restricted: 
Canterbury (Christchurch City; Waimakariri District); Whakatane District 
(Edgecumbe; Matata); Otago (Dunedin City District (inc Sth Dunedin); 
Waikato/ Coromandel (Hauraki District; Thames)

Moderate

Regulation reflects historical trends and status quo  
Government prioritises economic growth and maintaining stability, 
rather than taking aggressive measures to address climate change 
or social inequality. Policies are aimed at maintaining a level playing 
field in the market, protecting consumer rights, and maintaining social 
order. However, there may be fewer regulations aimed specifically at 
promoting sustainability or reducing greenhouse gas emissions, unless 
they can be justified on economic grounds.

Technology changes are incremental and focus on addressing 
immediate challenges. There may be a mix of conventional and 
renewable energy sources, with limited progress in transitioning to a 
low-carbon economy. Efforts may be made to improve energy efficiency 
and develop cleaner technologies, but progress could be slower 
compared to Deep decarbonisation.

Transportation 
(MOT)

Mix of cars, public transport options

Efforts to mitigate vs adapt  
(McGuiness Institute)

Medium challenges to mitigation and adaptation. Moderate efforts 
initially focusing on mitigation, then both by mid-late century

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 35

Figure 3.3  
Carbon intensive  
scenario parameters

CARBON INTENSIVE 

Ongoing fossil fuel-
driven economic growth 
and resource-intensive 
consumer choices 
accelerate emissions.

NZ Temp change: 2025

NZ Temp change: 2090

Reference scenarios

SSP5 / RCP 8.5

Warming at 2100  
(IPCC 6th Assessment; NIWA)

4.4 oC

Sea level rise at 2100  
(NASA)

Flooding – sea and pluvial 
inundation 
(MFE National Climate Risk 
Assessment 2020)

Population growth  
(SSP)

Regulatory / Policy 
(SSP)

Technology 
(IEA)

0.85m (NZ average)

High risk zones rapidly worsening – no insurance available, areas in 
managed retreat: 
Canterbury (Christchurch City; Waimakariri District); Whakatane District 
(Edgecumbe; Matata); Otago (Dunedin City District (inc Sth Dunedin); 
Waikato/ Coromandel (Hauraki District; Thames)

High

Regulatory conditions are more favorable to fossil fuel industries and 
less focused on environmental protection. Government prioritises 
economic growth and energy security over climate change concerns, 
and regulations may be less stringent to enable more rapid development 
of fossil fuel resources. There may be fewer restrictions on resource 
extraction, less stringent environmental regulations, and fewer 
incentives for renewable energy. Policies may be aimed at ensuring the 
stability of markets and maintaining social order, rather than promoting 
sustainability or social equality.

Technology advancements prioritise maximising resource 
extraction, expanding fossil fuel infrastructure, and increasing 
energy production. There could be fewer incentives for renewable 
energy sources, and carbon-intensive industries may thrive, however 
sustainability concerns and climate change impacts could still lead 
to the development of cleaner technologies, albeit at a slower pace 
compared to Deep decarbonisation.

Transportation 
(MOT)

Cars are predominant passenger transport

Efforts to mitigate vs adapt  
(McGuiness Institute)

High challenges to mitigation and adaptation. More effort invested 
later in the century, with main focus on adaptation

36 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CLIMATE-RELATED 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

Our inaugural climate scenario analysis was 
performed as a stand-alone process. However, 
the outputs have been integrated into NZME's Risk 
Management Framework, as well as our Sustainability 
Commitment, environmental management planning, 
and associated metrics and targets.

Members of the Executive Management Team 
as well as the CRD Working Group were involved 
in the scenario analysis and the development of 
management activities to address different risks 
and opportunities. The Board oversaw the climate-

related assessment process and were provided 
regular updates on the progress and outputs of 
our scenario analysis and resulting management 
activities.

While the time horizon for the scenarios stretched 
to the end of the century, we considered how the 
potential impacts would meaningfully play into  
the short, medium and long term timeframes for  
our business planning and capital deployment.  
We defined these time horizons in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Time horizons

SHORT TERM:  
Next 1–3 years  
Aligned with business planning

MEDIUM TERM:  
Next 3–10 years  
Aligned with asset management 
and publication life

LONG TERM:  
Next 10–30 years  
Aligned with investor relations 
and radio stream life

•  Focus on managing 

•  Focus on transitional risks 

•  During this time, physical 

immediate risks such as 
disruptions to operations due 
to extreme weather events, 
developing content that 
addresses climate risks and 
opportunities and mitigation 
and efficiency of own 
emissions. 

•  Strategic focus: Mitigation  

+ efficiency

such as regulatory changes 
that impact advertising 
or content distribution, 
changes in technology, shifts 
in market conditions that 
affect advertising revenue 
or changes in consumer 
behaviour due to shifting 
attitudes towards climate 
change. Also includes longer-
term adaptation measures 
such as changes to physical 
infrastructure. Continued 
mitigation and efficiency of 
own emissions.

•  Strategic focus: Mitigation + 
efficiency + adaptation (print/
digital transition) 

risks such as sea level rise, 
changes in temperature and 
precipitation patterns, and 
other impacts of climate 
change may become more 
pronounced. NZME will need 
to continue to mitigate its 
impact and may need to 
transform the nature of its 
business.

•  Strategic focus: Transition, 
mitigation + adaptation 
(business transformation)

NZME considered its full value chain when evaluating its exposure to climate-related risks and opportunities. 
Our anticipated physical and transition impacts are outlined in Tables 2 - 4, prioritised by scenario.

The anticipated financial impact of the material 
risks and opportunities prioritised as ‘high’ under 
each scenario was qualitatively assessed, where the 
level of financial impact is defined as Low = <$0.5 
million; Med = $0.5 million - $1.0 million; High = 
>$1.0 million.

While the scenarios represent plausible, challenging 
descriptions of how the future may develop, they 
have inherent assumptions and uncertainty and 
do not provide quantifiable predictions on the 
pace and scale of climate-related impacts that 

may affect our business. While the prioritisation 
of different risks and opportunities under each 
scenario provides a basis to qualify the financial 
impacts, further data is required on the nature 
of the impact in order to quantify the associated 
financial impact. NZME will investigate its high 
priority risks and opportunities further next year 
and seek to understand how the financial impacts 
may be further quantified. This will enable NZME to 
more accurately evaluate how climate related risks 
and opportunities serve as an input to its decision-
making processes.

Table 2: Anticipated financial impacts of material risks and opportunities – Deep decarbonisation 
scenario 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 37

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

Chronic changes 
to weather patterns 
- increased mean 
temperatures and rising 
sea levels

Management response

Physical

OPPORTUNITY: to 
inform audiences on 
consequences of climate 
change, steps they can 
take, and on extreme 
weather events

Level of 
financial 
impact

Med

Time 
horizon of 
impact

Short - 
Long

Financial 
impact

Revenue

Expenses

Assets and 
Liabilities

Become and promote relevant NZME platforms as NZ's home of trustworthy, reliable and balanced weather event 
information. 
Continue to investigate opportunities for alternative connectivity including satellite, ensure newsrooms stay equipped 
to operate remotely and amidst unstable infrastructure.

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

Implementing low 
emissions/sustainable 
technology

Transition

RISK: Cost of upgrade 
of fleet/equipment, 
increased costs of raw 
materials

Financial 
impact

Level of 
financial 
impact

Time 
horizon of 
impact

Expenses

Med – High

Short - Med

Assets and 
Liabilities

Capital and 
Finance

Management response

Investigate low emissions options and replace at natural end of life/end of lease agreements to minimise financial 
impact, investigate government/industry funding opportunities, model costs of carbon into business cases.

Consider moves to smaller offices, renegotiating leases, explore alternative supply agreements including power 
purchase agreements, convert to renewable/owned generation where possible and practical.

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

Legislative reporting 
requirements

Transition

OPPORTUNITY: Ability 
to take an industry 
leadership role in NZ on 
the transition; potential to 
gain new audiences and 
advertising share

Management response

Financial 
impact

Level of 
financial 
impact

Time 
horizon of 
impact

Revenue

Med

Short

Capital and 
Finance

Deliver on what we say we are going to, build a PR/marketing plan to highlight our achievements and communicate with 
consumers/advertisers.

Develop specific products/information for advertisers and audience to understand our reporting and stance.

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

Shifting consumer 
preferences, new market 
opportunities

Transition

OPPORTUNITY: 
Development of new 
products and services 
and access to consumers/
advertisers interested 
in sustainably produced 
journalism.
RISK: Pace of change 
on consumer transition 
to digital media is more 
rapid than anticipated.

Financial 
impact

Level of 
financial 
impact

Time 
horizon of 
impact

Revenue

Med 

Short - Med

Expenses 

Management response

Engage expert contributors, work on quality and breadth of content.

Highlight progress through PR and marketing, create climate focused platform.

Continue to monitor subscriptions to different media channels, customer engagement, ROI & growth potential,  
and industry trends; refine risk management response, and integrate within asset planning approach.

38 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CLIMATE-RELATED 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

Table 3: Anticipated financial impacts of material risks and opportunities – Status quo scenario 

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

NZME's reputation

Transition

RISK: Loss of consumers 
due to mistrust in the 
media, inadvertently 
spreading misinformation/
disinformation, measures 
on ESG not strong 
enough, greenwashing

Financial 
impact

Level of 
financial 
impact

Time 
horizon of 
impact

Revenue

Med

Short - Med

Capital and 
Finance

Management response

Adhere to accuracy, balance and other Media Council and BSA principles, including providing training to our people to 
support this, ensure qualified editors and content directors vet content to ensure quality, accuracy, balance, present 
content in an engaging manner, clearly highlighting facts vs opinion and alternate views based on fact (whilst being 
alert to the risk of spreading misinformation). 

Build and develop expert sources of information and knowledge, use our data journalists to verify claims.

Good governance in place to ensure quality of sustainability claims and hold management to account in striving to 
meet KPIs, review process for Sustainability Commitment and other ESG undertakings, including legal, to ensure not 
misleading and NZME can live up to and deliver on its promises.

Peer benchmarking to ensure our Sustainability Commitment and ESG undertakings/objectives are up to standard  
and lead the way.

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

Supply chain influence

Transition

RISK: Suppliers don’t 
develop/supply low 
emission alternatives 
fast enough or at all, 
increased competition

Management response

Encourage supplier compliance with Responsible Sourcing Policy.

Choose low-emission/renewable alternatives where possible and practical. 

Financial 
impact

Level of 
financial 
impact

Time 
horizon of 
impact

Expenses

Med – High

Assets and 
Liabilities

Short - 
Long

Prepare for potential increased costs, investigate alternative ways of doing things (eg. different products, offsets), 
diversified and local supplier base where possible and practical. Consider sustainability criteria in supplier contracts.

Mitigate lead-time delays by agreeing and maintaining acceptable delivery cycles with suppliers, investigate industry 
collaboration on sourcing in bulk, Responsible Sourcing Policy compliance – engage with essential suppliers in  
a positive way - sell the plus for them.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 39

Table 4: Anticipated financial impacts of material risks and opportunities – Carbon intensive scenario 

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

Increased severity of 
extreme weather

Physical

RISK: Flooding of sites, 
health and safety risk, 
difficulty distributing 
content, business 
continuity risk

Management response

Financial 
impact

Expenses

Assets and 
liabilities

Revenue

Level of 
financial 
impact

High

High

Med

Time 
horizon of 
impact

Short - 
Long

Regularly review and update business continuity plans, test run Business Continuity Plan (BCP) at least annually, review 
redundancy model to ensure remote management of transmission can happen during extreme weather, undertake 
physical risk assessment on all sites and make improvements.

Review all staff capability to work remotely, review options to collaborate with others in industry, develop severe 
weather communications plan.

Set severe weather thresholds for closing office, train reporters on risk assessment and have them undertake training  
for severe weather events.

Multiple channels available for content access, contingency plans include ability to print/deliver from alternate sites and 
using alternate routes/methods, promote the e-edition of the paper to subscribers and email a link when papers cannot 
be delivered.

Climate issue

Type

Business impact

NZME's reputation

Transition

OPPORTUNITY: Fulfil key 
communication role for 
communities/society - 
inform, educate, influence 
and grow trust

Management response

Financial 
impact

Level of 
financial 
impact

Time 
horizon of 
impact

Revenue

Med

Capital and 
finance

Short - 
Long

Plan the channels where it would be appropriate to play a lead role in informing and commenting on climate change 
activity and risks. 

Consider editorial board to set out NZME's position on climate change and key messages we want to support.

Develop partnerships and give a voice to trusted experts on climate change and ensure they are associated with  
our brand, whilst ensuring balance and accuracy are upheld.

Positioning for a low carbon future
NZME’s Sustainability Commitment sets out 
initiatives under three pillars: Our Communities,  
Our People and Our Environment, encapsulating  
our commitment to protecting the craft of 
journalism and broadcasting to achieve our 
purpose: Keeping Kiwis in the know. 

NZME's initial transition planning includes reviewing 
and aligning its Sustainability Commitment to its 
material environmental, social and governance 
issues, and refining and strengthening the 
supporting sustainability objectives, metrics 
and targets. The environmental pillar within our 
Sustainability Commitment now focuses on the 
material part we can play in supporting New 
Zealand's transition to a low carbon economy 
- reducing and mitigating our own impact, and 

accelerating Kiwis awareness and engagement 
on environmental issues. We recognise that 
climate-related risks are just one part of the bigger 
picture of environmental risks New Zealand is 
facing, including resource constraints relating to 
biodiversity loss, water and air pollution - and so our 
Sustainability Commitment sets out to encompass 
these challenges. 

The first step in our transition towards a low carbon 
economy has been to establish a baseline measure 
of our greenhouse gas emissions. Scope 1 and 2 
emissions have been disclosed on 41 and we have 
commenced the process of measuring our Scope  
3 emissions, which are expected to be disclosed  
in 2025. We have established science-aligned 
targets for our Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which  
are consistent with limiting global warming to  
1.5 degrees celsius. 

40 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CLIMATE-RELATED 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

We are developing our environmental management 
plan, which will provide a tactical roadmap to achieve 
our emissions targets and enable us to establish 
decision making to support our transition. Our 
environmental management plan will also set out 
our actions to reduce the environmental impact of 
our products, including our printed publications and 
media platforms, which will play an important part in 
supporting our industry and our customers' transition 
to a low-emissions, climate-resilient future state.

While our environmental management plan is in 
development, some projects have commenced 
already. These include:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

NZME has committed to not purchase or lease 
any further diesel vehicles, starting from 2023.

NZME has ordered only hybrids for all new fleet 
cars since late 2022, replacing vehicles as their 
leases expire with hybrids.

The number of fleet vehicles has been reduced 
from 151 to approximately 127 during the 2023 
round of lease renewals. 

NZME operates a number of pool cars, and 
a workstream exists which is focused on 
understanding if these could be full E.V.s from 
their next renewal. 

NZME’s electricity contract is being renewed in 
2024, and work is underway to evaluate options 
for market based contractual instruments such 
as fully renewable electricity and renewable 
energy certificates.

Additionally, the largest single contributor to NZME’s 
Scope 1 and 2 emissions is the Ellerslie print plant. 
Consumer trends away from physical print based 
media and towards other mediums offered by NZME 
have seen print volumes decline year on year, and 
this is anticipated to continue. This decrease in 
print volumes will decrease energy demand and 
emissions at the Ellerslie site.

We will continue to review our climate-related risks 
and opportunities, and the extent to which these 
act as an accelerator or aggravator to the current 
trends and evolution of our media platforms and our 
subsequent capital deployment decision-making. 

RISK MANAGEMENT
NZME undertook scenario analysis to identify and 
assess the scope, size and impact of its climate- 
related risks and opportunities. We started by 
identifying the broadest range of potential climate 
risks and opportunities that may plausibly impact 
our business under all scenarios. We then used the 
scenario-specific narratives to explore the relevance 
of each risk or opportunity and whether it may 
worsen or improve under the respective scenarios. 

To prioritise the severity of the risks and 
opportunities present under a particular scenario, 
we evaluated their likelihood and consequence, 
where 'likelihood' evaluated the speed of onset,  
or the time the risk or opportunity was expected  
to be first experienced (in the short, medium, 
or long term) and 'consequence' related to the 
potential impact on NZME's shareholder value, 
growth and reputation. 

NZME's priority risks and opportunities present 
under each scenario are outlined in Tables 2 – 4 
on page 37 to 39. We evaluated our vulnerability to 
the identified priority risks and opportunities 
to establish our risk control measures and 
management response.

No part of NZME's value chain was excluded from  
its climate-related assessment.

NZME undertook its inaugural climate-related 
assessment in May 2023 and will continue to 
evaluate and monitor its climate-related risks  
and opportunities annually.

NZME has integrated its climate-related risk into  
the NZME Risk Management Framework. 

Process for prioritising climate-related risks  
relative to other risk types

Climate-related risks are assessed and prioritised 
on the same basis as NZME’s other risks are 
categorised in its Group risk matrix. That matrix 
incorporates an assessment of likelihood and 
impact for each risk and prioritises risks accordingly.

NZME recognises that there are many 
interconnections between the identified climate- 
related risks and other risks and it is for this reason 
that NZME has fully integrated climate-related risk 
into the risk management framework.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 41

METRICS AND TARGETS
Greenhouse Gas Emissions

NZME's base year (2022) and 2023 Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, emissions intensity, and 
industry-based metrics are provided in Table 5. We are measuring Scope 3 emissions, which are planned to 
be reported in 2025.

Table 5: NZME’s GHG emissions and industry based metrics 

Greenhouse Gas 
Emissions

Scope 1 / Category 1 
(T CO2e)

Scope 2 / Category 2 
(T CO2e)

Emissions intensity  
(TOTAL T CO2e per FTE

2023

721*

655*

1.15

2022  
(base year)

Change

2032 Target 

781*

683*

1.22

(7.7%) 

50.4% / 393 T CO2e

(4.1%) 

50.4% / 344 T CO2e

(5.7%)

 N/A

Industry based metrics

Scope

2023

2022 
(base year)

Change

Fleet Fuel 
(Petrol L)

Fleet Fuel 
(Diesel L)

Forklift Fuel 
(LPG Kg)

Stationary energy  
(Natural Gas GJ)

Diesel Generators 
(Diesel L)

1

1

1

1

1

144,865

154,550

(6.3%) 

30,098

35,248

(14.6%)

5,295

4,853

4,996

5,790

5,476

0

(8.5%) 

(11.4%) 

N/A

(4.1%) 

Purchased electricity (kWh)

2

8,833,274

9,206,848

*  Scope 1 & 2 TCO2e emissions for the years ended 31 December 2022 (base year) and 31 December 
2023 have been included in the scope of PwC’s limited assurance engagement. No other amounts or 
calculations in this table have been included in the assurance engagement and are not covered by the 
limited assurance report issued.

Our progress

Progress has been made in all areas against the 
2022 base year in our first year of reporting. Fuel 
and Diesel usage has been reduced with both a 
reduction in the fleet and the commencement of 
transition to hybrid and more efficient vehicles. 
Electricity and gas usage is also down with lower 
activity and increased efficiency. 

NZME's FY32 Scope 1 and 2 target is a 50.4% 
absolute reduction from 2022 and net zero by 2050. 
This science-aligned target follows a pathway of 

limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, using the 
methodology set by the Science Based Target 
initiative. In line with this methodology, we are 
aiming to achieve at least 90% of our long term 
emissions target before we offset our residual 
emissions using verified voluntary offsets certified 
under an internationally accepted scheme to be 
selected closer to our target date. In 2023,  
we achieved a 6% reduction on our Scope 1 and 2 
emissions, which is on track towards our science-
aligned targets.

42 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CLIMATE-RELATED 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

Criteria used to prepare our greenhouse gas 
emissions statement

NZME's GHG emissions inventory has been prepared in 
accordance with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol 
Corporate Accounting Standard and ISO14064-1. 
NZME has taken an operational control consolidation 
approach in the preparation of its GHG emissions 
inventory. Emissions measured in this approach 
arise from the business units owned or controlled 
by NZME. Our emissions factors were sourced from 
Te ine tukunga: He tohutohu pakihi - Measuring 
emissions: A guide for organisations: 2023 emission 
factors summary, published by the Ministry for the 
Environment (MfE Report). These are based on the 100-
year Global Warming Potential (GWP values) (GWP100) 
for the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5).

As adapted from the GHG Protocol and ISO14064-
1:2018, these emissions were classified into the 
following categories:

• 

• 

Direct GHG emissions (Scope/Category 1):  
GHG emissions from sources that are  
owned or controlled by the company.

Indirect GHG emissions (Scope/Category 
2): GHG emissions from the generation 
of purchased electricity, heat and steam 
consumed by the company.

Table 6 summarises the methodology for collection 
of data and relative uncertainty associated with the 
data source.

Table 6: Emissions sources and methodology for data collection 

Emissions 
Source

Scope Data source

Data 
unit

Uncertainty

Fleet – vehicles 
(petrol/diesel)

Fleet – forklift (LPG)

Natural gas  
- boiler

Diesel - Generator

Refrigerant

Purchased 
electricity

1

1

1

1

1

2

Obtained volumes of fuel from 
fuel card reports, supplier 
invoices and credit card 
spend data and applied the 
appropriate emissions factors 
from the MfE Report.

Obtained volumes of LPG 
purchased from supplier 
invoices and applied the 
appropriate emissions factor 
from the MfE Report.

Obtained volumes of natural 
gas purchased from supplier 
invoices and applied the 
appropriate emissions factor 
from the MfE Report.

Obtained volumes of diesel 
purchased from supplier 
invoices and applied the 
appropriate emissions factor 
from the MfE Report.

Obtained confirmation that 
there were no top-ups of 
refrigerants from the  supplier 
for the Ellerslie site.

L

kg

GJ

L

L

Obtained the volume of 
electricity consumed from 
supplier invoices and applied 
the appropriate emissions 
factor from the MfE Report.

kWh

Low - relied upon the supplier to 
provide complete and accurate 
invoice data, and that this is an 
appropriate representation of 
activity.

Low - relied upon the supplier to 
provide complete and accurate 
invoice data, and that this is an 
appropriate representation of 
activity.

Low - relied upon the supplier to 
provide complete and accurate 
invoice data, and that this is an 
appropriate representation of 
activity.

Low - relied upon the supplier to 
provide complete and accurate 
invoice data, and that this is an 
appropriate representation of 
activity.

Medium - relied upon the supplier 
to provide complete and accurate 
service data for the Ellerslie site, 
however, invoices need to be 
manually checked to gather data  
for other sites

Low - relied upon the supplier  
to provide complete and accurate 
invoice data, and that this is  
an appropriate representation  
of activity

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 43

Data was collected for the period 1st January 2022 – 
31st December 2023. In most cases, source supplier 
data was used to prepare this emissions inventory. 

There were some areas where this was not available 
due to the outsourcing of processes, limiting the 
ability to access specific information. These are 
summarised below:

• 

Fleet – Vehicles. Some petrol and diesel use was 
paid for by personal cards and reimbursed for. 
This was captured from the expenses system.

• 

• 

Refrigerant data - For Ellerslie (key production 
site) where we assume control/responsibility 
for cooling systems, we have confirmed no top 
ups of Refrigerants, we do not have the data for 
other sites because they are leased/shared and 
it is unavailable.

Diesel used in onsite generators – Where 
we have control of site generators we have 
captured usage via Invoices and card spend, 
this was a manual process, and human error 
may have resulted in top ups being missed from 
the reported data. We do not have the data for 
other sites because they are leased/shared and 
it is unavailable.

Risks and opportunities metrics

Our 2023 material risks and opportunities metrics are summarised in Table 7. These consider the current 
physical and transitional risks and opportunities experienced in 2023. Quantitative methods, including 
reviewing our assets register, accounts and media platform data, were used to establish the results for  
all metrics.

Table 7: Risks and opportunities metrics

Metric

2023

Amount or percentage of assets or business 
activities vulnerable to transition risks

Amount or percentage of assets or business 
activities vulnerable to physical risks

One gas boiler, 18 diesel and 109 petrol vehicles – vulnerable 
to price shocks associated with transition towards low carbon 
energy sources.

100% business exposed to legislative reporting requirements  
– climate disclosure

One asset - (Ellerslie print plant) located in 1/100 year flood 
zone. However, a risk assessment undertaken  
in 2023 identified this asset as vulnerable to a 1/200  
year event.

Transmission equipment – vulnerable to disruption associated 
with Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle

Channel/print delivery network – vulnerable to disruption 
associated with Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle

Assets or business activities aligned with 
climate-related opportunities

NZME’s strategy is to grow its digital channels recognising  
that these will be the dominant way to reach audiences.  
This strategy is aligned to climate related opportunities. 

Amount of investment deployed toward 
climate-related risks and opportunities

$661k (18 Vehicles) - invested in 2023 towards the three-year 
rollover of our vehicle fleet to hybrids.

Internal emissions price

NZD$87 per tonne of CO2e – this follows the ‘central’ value per 
Treasury’s recommended shadow emissions values for 2023

Management remuneration linked to climate-
related risks and opportunities

Management remuneration is not currently linked to 
climate-related risk and opportunities nor incorporated into 
remuneration policies. However, the People, Remuneration  
and Nominations Committee of the Board will consider how  
to incorporate climate-related performance metrics for  
relevant roles at NZME in future.

44 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

2023 AWARDS

NZME has been recognised with 
a number of industry awards in 
2023, celebrating our people and 
their achievements: 

NZME Podcast Network - Prime Time 
James Butcher, Sarah Catran, 
Iheartradio And The NZME 
Podcast Network, NZME

IAB DIGITAL 
ADVERTISING AWARDS 

INMA 
Categories won by NZME:

2023 DIGITAL SALES 
EXCELLENCE (TEAM) 
NZME Digital Direct Team 
Matt Fussell, NZME

SALES AND AD-OPERATIONS 
AWARDS 
2023 JUNIOR AD OPERATIONS 
EXCELLENCE 
Toni Gleason - Rising Star, NZME 

2023 SENIOR AD OPERATIONS 
EXCELLENCE 
Greg Lockton, NZME 
James Park - Digital Navigator, 
NZME

2023 TECHNICAL AD 
OPERATIONS EXCELLENCE 
Jason Nockels, NZME

CHANNEL EXCELLENCE 
AWARDS

2023 BEST USE OF AUDIO 
Wild Secrets Sex.life - Lauren 
Simpkins, Sarah Catran, Annabel 
Ferguson NZME iHeartradio Team 

GRAND AWARDS 
2023 DIGITAL SALES 
EXCELLENCE (TEAM) 
NZME Agency Team,  
NZME Digital Direct Team,  
Matt Fussel

2023 DIGITAL PRODUCT OF THE 
YEAR 
Digital Dispatch Automation, 
Jason Nockels, Stephen Geal, NZME

BEST INNOVATION IN 
NEWSROOM TRANSFORMATION 
Te Rito

HRD AWARDS NEW ZEALAND 
2023 
HR TEAM OF THE YEAR  
(> 500 STAFF) 
NZME Culture & Performance team

NZ PODCAST AWARDS

BEST BUSINESS PODCAST 
Cooking the Books with  
Frances Cook

BEST FICTION PODCAST 
Tom Sainsbury's Small  
Town Scandal

BEST HEALTH AND WELLBEING 
PODCAST 
No Such Thing As Normal

BEST RADIO PODCAST  
ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley

BEST SEX AND RELATIONSHIP 
PODCAST - SPONSORED BY ROVA 
Sex.Life

NZ RADIO AWARDS

BEST CONTENT

BEST SHOW PRODUCER OR 
PRODUCING TEAM - TALK SHOW 
Laura Beattie, Laura Cunningham, 
Anthony Milicich, Brooke Hobson 
Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive 
Newstalk ZB Network

BEST VIDEO - SHORT FORM 
Rocktober - Bar Video Claire 
Chellew, Kate Britten, Tom 
Harper, JD Hubbard, Angelina 
Grey, Matt Heath, Jeremy Wells, 
NZME Vision Team, John Phillips 
Radio Hauraki Network

BEST PODCASTS

BEST ENTERTAINMENT PODCAST 
- EPISODIC 
The ACC Agenda Podcast Matt 
Heath, James McOnie, Mike Lane, 
Joseph Durie, Adam Pomana, 
The ACC

BEST HOSTS

BEST MUSIC NETWORK 
BREAKFAST SHOW 
ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley 
Carl Fletcher, Vaughan Smith, 
Hayley Sproull, Anna Henvest, 
Carwen Jones, Jared Pickstock, 
ZM Network

BEST TALK PRESENTER - 
BREAKFAST OR DRIVE 
The Mike Hosking Breakfast Mike 
Hosking, Michael Allan, Sam 
Carran, Glenn Hart, Newstalk ZB 
Network

BEST TALK PRESENTER - NON-
BREAKFAST OR DRIVE 
Marcus Lush Nights Marcus 
Lush, Dan Goodwin, Newstalk ZB 
Network

BEST NEW BROADCASTER

BEST NEW BROADCASTER - 
JOURNALIST 
Jason Walls, Newstalk ZB 
Network (joint)

 
 
 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 45

BEST NEW BROADCASTER - ON-AIR 
Meg Wyatt, ZM & The Hits Network

BEST NEWS & SPORT

BEST NEWSREADER 
Niva Retimanu, Newstalk ZB 
Network

BEST SPORTS READER, 
PRESENTER OR COMMENTATOR 
Jason Pine Andy McDonnell, 
Newstalk ZB Network

BEST SPORTS STORY - TEAM 
COVERAGE 
Birmingham 2022 
Commonwealth Games 
Elliott Smith, Malcolm Jordan, 
Nick Bewley, Jason Pine, Andy 
McDonnell, Andrew Alderson, 
Mark Kelly, Angus Mabey, Kate 
Wells Newstalk ZB & Gold Sport

BEST MARKETING & 
INTEGRATION

BEST CLIENT PROMOTION/
ACTIVATION 
The Hits Jono & Ben's $10,000 
Chip Pic with Heartland Chips 
Harriett Whiting, Ben Humphrey, 
Jono Pryor, Ben Boyce, Joel 
Harrison, Alastair Boyes, Jordan 
Whiu, Tom Dyton, Joshua, The 
Hits Network

BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN 
Jono & Ben Kids Call the Shots 
Jacqui Davis, Gemma Vovchenko, 
Xanthe Williams, Emily Hancox, 
Joseph Senior, Jono Pryor,  
Ben Boyce, The Hits Network

BEST EFFECTIVE COMMERCIAL 
CAMPAIGN 
Does it do what a Daikin does? 
Graham Dolan, Arron Smith, Holly 
McLaughlin, Nathalie O'Toole, 
Emma Freeman, Gerald Stewart, 
NZME

SALES TEAM OF THE YEAR 
NZME Christchurch Matt 
Bowness, Anna McKenzie, Ben 
Harris, Danielle Torr, Chloe 
Hebden, Amy Green, Jimmy 
Farrant, Ian Avery, Lynne-Puddy 
Greenwood, Esther Hall, Adam 
Miller, Victoria McArthur, Sabia 
Harrington, NZME Christchurch

BEST COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN 
Fill The Bus Paul Hickey, Hamish 
Gleeson, The Hits Rotorua

NEWS WEBSITE OF THE YEAR 
INTERNET   
NZHerald.co.nz

STATION OF THE YEAR

ALL MEDIA

NETWORK / METROPOLIAN 
STATION OF THE YEAR 
Newstalk ZB, NZME

SIR PAUL HOLMES 
BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR 
Mike Hosking, Newstalk ZB

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION 
TO RADIO 
Barry Soper, Newstalk ZB

SERVICES TO BROADCASTING 
Phil Quinney, NZME

NEW ZEALAND 
SHAREHOLDERS 
ASSOCIATION 
BUSINESS JOURNALISM 
AWARDS

EMERGING JOURNALIST OF THE 
YEAR 2023 
Ella Somers, BusinessDesk

CATEGORY WINNERS AND 
FINALISTS

NEWS AWARD 
Cécile Meier, BusinessDesk,  
Te Whatu Ora to crack down on 
health consultant spend

COMMENTARY AWARD 
Jenny Ruth, BusinessDesk, 
Ryman burned through hundreds 
of millions of dollars

PRIDE IN PRINT 
AWARDS 
Categories won by NZME: 

Six awards in total including four 
gold medals for print quality

Best Web Offset Coldset medium

Ultimate prize for quality within the 
newspaper publication category

VOYAGER MEDIA 
AWARDS

BROADCAST AND DIGITAL

BEST ORIGINAL PODCAST - 
ONGOING/EPISODIC 
Between Two Beers – Steven 
Holloway, Seamus Marten, NZME 

BEST INDIVIDUAL 
INVESTIGATION 
Nicholas Jones, NZ Herald, NZME 
– Aged care crisis

GORDON MCLAUCHLAN TRAVEL 
JOURNALISM AWARD 
Thomas Bywater, NZ Herald 
Travel, NZME

BEST REPORTING - LOCAL 
GOVERNMENT 
Oliver Lewis, BusinessDesk, 
NZME

BEST REPORTING - SCIENCE | 
SPONSORED BY SCIENCE MEDIA 
CENTRE 
Jamie Morton, NZ Herald, NZME

BEST REPORTING - SOCIAL 
ISSUES, INCLUDING HEALTH AND 
EDUCATION 
Nicholas Jones , NZ Herald, NZME

POLITICAL JOURNALIST OF THE 
YEAR 
Audrey Young, NZ Herald, NZME

PRINT/TEXT JOURNALISM

BEST OPINION WRITING 
Vaimoana Mase, NZ Herald, 
NZME

BEST FEATURE WRITING - SOCIAL 
ISSUES, INCLUDING HEALTH AND 
EDUCATION 
Alex Spence, NZ Herald, NZME  
– Losing Cassandra

METROPOLITAN NEWSPAPER  
OF THE YEAR 
NZ Herald, NZME

VOYAGER NEWSPAPER  
OF THE YEAR  
NZ Herald, NZME

DELOITTE TOP 200 
AWARDS 2023

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 
LEADERSHIP 
NZME (Te Rito) 

 
 
 
 
46 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE NZME 
BOARD

Barbara Chapman
Independent Chairman

Barbara Chapman served as Chief Executive and 
Managing Director of ASB Bank Limited from 2011 until 
February 2018. She has extensive business experience 
gained through a successful career in banking and 
insurance. During her career she has held a number of 
senior and executive roles in retail banking, marketing, 
communications, human resources and life insurance.

Barbara is passionate about people and culture, and 
promoting best practice in community, governance and 
sustainability. She is the Chairman of Genesis Energy 
Limited, Deputy Chair of The New Zealand Initiative 
and holds an independent directorship on the board 
of Fletcher Building Limited and Bank of New Zealand. 
Barbara was appointed Chairman of the NZME Board in 
June 2020.

Carol Campbell  
Independent Director

Carol Campbell is a Chartered Accountant and Fellow 
of CAANZ, and Chartered member of the Institute of 
Directors. Carol was a partner at Ernst & Young for over  
25 years and has been a professional director for the last 
10 years. Carol has extensive financial experience and  
a sound understanding of efficient board governance  
and chairs NZME’s Audit and Risk Committee. 

Carol is chair of NZ Post Limited and a director  
of T&G Global Limited, Asset Plus Limited and  
Chubb Insurance Limited.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 47

David Gibson
Independent Director

David has more than  20 years’ investment banking  
experience, including as Co-Head of Investment  
Banking in New Zealand for Deutsche Bank and 
Deutsche Craigs where he completed a number of  
New Zealand’s largest M&A and equity transactions, 
including within the media industry.

David is currently Deputy Chair of Goodman (NZ) Limited 
and a Director of Freightways, Rangatira Limited and  
has recently been appointed as a Director of Contact 
Energy Limited.

David holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor 
of Commerce from the University of Canterbury.

Sussan Turner
Independent Director

For the past 25 years Sussan has held senior leadership 
roles across media companies, including Group CEO 
of MediaWorks, Managing Director of Radio Otago and 
CEO of RadioWorks. She is currently Group CEO and 
Director of Aspire2 Group Limited, one of the leading 
private tertiary education groups in New Zealand and 
is passionate about building executive teams and 
company cultures. 

Sussan has extensive experience as a director and is 
appointed by Government to the board of Auckland 
University of Technology (AUT) as Pro-chancellor.

Guy Horrocks
Independent Director

Guy established himself as an early pioneer of the  
mobile app industry co-founding the world’s first 
commercial iPhone app company in 2007, Polar 
Bear Farm. He is one of a number of high powered, 
experienced New Zealand entrepreneurs who’ve  
built internationally successful digital enterprises.  
With clients including Expedia, DreamWorks, HBO,  
OREO, CNN, Time Magazine as well as NZ Herald, 
Horrocks helped launch over 100 mobile apps with  
his award winning mobile agency Carnival Labs, many  
of which were featured by Apple. 

Guy Horrocks has since launched a new real-time data 
warehouse called SOLVE and is also a director of New 
Zealand Mint Limited, New Zealand’s only precious metal 
mint, and an advisory board member of Tracksuit Limited.

48 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE NZME 
EXECUTIVE TEAM

Michael Boggs 
Chief Executive Officer

Michael was appointed CEO of New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) 
in March 2016. Prior to that he held the Chief Financial Officer position at NZME. 
Michael’s core focus at NZME has been to develop and implement a group wide 
strategy to accelerate growth across NZME’s brands particularly in the areas of 
subscription and classified offerings, digital and video content, while ensuring the 
sustainable growth of the company’s traditional print and radio platforms.

Michael has extensive senior executive experience including as Chief Financial Officer 
at leading insurance company Tower Limited. While at Tower, Michael managed the 
company’s multibillion-dollar assets, its Pacific Islands operations, earthquake recovery 
programme and the sale of Tower’s life insurance, health insurance and investment 
management businesses. This industry leading work was recognised in 2014 when 
Michael was awarded CFO of the year at the annual New Zealand CFO Awards. 
Michael also has significant background in the telecommunications and technology 
sectors with executive roles in the finance, commercial and business functions of 
major organisations including Telstra’s New Zealand operations.

Greg Hornblow 
Chief of OneRoof

Greg was appointed as the Chief of OneRoof in January 2023.

Greg has an incredibly strong commercial background, with more than 30 years of 
experience working alongside real estate professionals in a variety of roles and in 
advertising and marketing, including previously at NZME.

His passion for the real estate industry and proven track record will ensure OneRoof is 
well placed to create further value for our agent partners.

Carolyn Luey 
Chief Digital and Publishing Officer

Carolyn was appointed Chief Digital and Publishing Officer in August 2021.

After five years at NZME, Carolyn left as Chief Operating Officer in December 2016. 
She then went on to senior transformational roles at MYOB and Vodafone where she 
was Chief Consumer Officer.

With extensive experience as a strategic business leader in large New Zealand 
telecommunications, technology and media companies, Carolyn brings a wealth of 
knowledge and understanding of how best NZME can deliver growing digital audience 
engagement for our commercial partners.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 49

David Mackrell 
Chief Financial Officer

David was appointed Chief Financial Officer of NZME in March 2019, leading NZME’s 
Finance, Technology, Legal and Strategy Functions. He moved to NZME from Heartland 
Bank where he was their Chief Financial Officer.

David started his professional career at Ernst & Young as an Auditor before joining  
Air New Zealand in 1992. His career at Air New Zealand spanned 25 years and a large 
gamut of senior financial and commercial roles, finishing with the company as Deputy 
Chief Financial Officer.

Katie Mills 
Chief Marketing Officer

Katie joined the NZME Executive Team in December 2018 assuming leadership of the 
company’s Marketing and Communications functions. Immediately prior, Katie held the 
role of Group Marketing Director at Aspire2 Group Limited and was previously General 
Manager (Global) Marketing & Communications at Opus International Consultants.

Along with Katie’s wide marketing industry experience, she also brings to her role, more 
than 20 years of media-specific experience. 15 of those years were spent at MediaWorks 
in senior leadership positions including as Head of Marketing, successfully developing 
and delivering marketing and brand strategies for a portfolio of radio, digital, event and 
television ventures.

Jason Winstanley  
Chief Audio Officer 

Jason is one of New Zealand’s most experienced audio executives with extensive 
experience across music and talk radio. He has led high profile and successful  
music radio brands including seven years as Assistant Content Director at ZM and  
five years as Content Director of The Hits. He also led the successful transition  
of ‘Classic Hits’ to the ‘The Hits’ brand in 2014. 

In his most recent role as Head of Talk for NZME, Jason has led Newstalk ZB  
to record audience growth and continued commercial success.

Jason's role includes responsibility for the Audio business and the content delivery  
to support audience and revenue growth across NZME’s radio networks.

50 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CORPORATE 
GOVERNANCE

GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

The Company is listed on the NZX Main Board and 
has a Foreign Exempt Listing on the ASX (both 
under the ticker code “NZM”). The ASX Foreign 
Exempt Listing category is based on a principle 
of substituted compliance recognising that, for 
secondary listings, the primary regulatory role and 
oversight rests with the home exchange and the 
supervisory regulator in that jurisdiction. As such, 
NZME is required to comply with a limited set of ASX 
Listing Rules.

The Company’s corporate governance framework, 
as described in this section, therefore primarily 
takes into consideration contemporary standards 
in New Zealand, incorporating the NZX Corporate 
Governance Code (“NZX Code”).

The Group is committed to having a strong 
governance framework and therefore complies 
with the recommendations of the NZX Code (unless 
specifically stated otherwise). The corporate 
governance policies referred to in this section reflect 
the Group’s governance framework as at 31 December 
2023 (unless otherwise stated) and are available 
on the Company’s website. The Board of NZME has 
approved this corporate governance statement.

PRINCIPLE 1 - CODE OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR

Directors should set high standards of ethical 
behaviour, model this behaviour and hold 
management accountable for these standards  
being followed throughout the organisation.

Code of Conduct & Ethics

The Company’s Code of Conduct & Ethics governs 
the Company and its subsidiaries’ commercial 
operations and the conduct of directors, employees, 
consultants and all other people when they represent 
the Company and its subsidiaries. The Code of 
Conduct & Ethics comprises certain fundamental 
principles and demonstrates the high standards 
of conduct expected of us. The current Code 
of Conduct & Ethics was updated in June 2023. 
Reporting of breaches of the Code is encouraged 
and steps for doing so are set out in the Code of 
Conduct & Ethics and the Whistleblower Policy.

The Company has provided training on the Code 
of Conduct & Ethics in the form of a video series on 
key points relevant to employees.

The Company also has an Editorial Code of Ethics 
which was extensively reviewed during 2022 to 
align with international best practice. This code 
is published on the Company’s website and 
highlighting our principal responsibility to the truth 
– and to our communities and audiences – and our 
commitment to journalism of the highest quality 
possible that earns the trust of our audience. The 
Code states our belief that freedom of the press and 
dissemination of editorial content is ta cornerstone 
of a healthy, thriving democracy. The Code 
includes our responsibilities in relation to accuracy, 
independence, opinion, editing, diversity, conduct 
and integrity.

Securities Trading Policy

The Securities Trading Policy, which was reviewed 
and updated based on best practice in 2022 and 
is available on the Company’s website, details the 
Company’s trading policy and guidelines, including 
trading restrictions on dealing in the Company’s 
quoted financial products. This policy applies to 
the directors and all employees and contractors. 
The Securities Trading Policy places additional 
trading restrictions on the directors, the Chief 
Executive Officer (“CEO”) and their direct reports 
(and employees reporting directly to them), all 
administrative staff of the CEO and direct reports 
referred to above and anyone else notified by 
NZME’s General Counsel.

PRINCIPLE 2 - BOARD COMPOSITION  
& PERFORMANCE

To ensure an effective Board, there should be 
a balance of independence, skills, knowledge, 
experience and perspectives.

Role of the Board and Board Charter

The business and affairs of the Company is 
managed under the direction and supervision of the 
Board currently comprised (and as at 31 December 
2023 was comprised) of independent

Chairman, Barbara Chapman, and independent 
directors; Carol Campbell, David Gibson, 
Sussan Turner and Guy Horrocks. The directors 
acknowledge their duty to act in good faith and in 
the best interests of the Company. The objective 
of the Company is to generate growth, corporate 
profit and shareholder gain from the activities of the 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 51

Group. In pursuing this objective, the role of the 
Board is to assume accountability for the success 
of the Company by taking overall responsibility 
for the strategic direction and monitoring 
of operational management of the Group in 
accordance with good corporate governance 
principles. More details regarding the main 
functions of the Board and the distinction from the 
roles of management can be found in the Board 
Charter available on the Company’s website.  
No person ceased to be a director of the Company 
during the financial year ended 31 December 2023.

Director Nomination and Appointment

Directors are appointed by the Company’s 
shareholders, with rotation and retirement being 
determined by the Constitution. The Board 
may appoint directors to fill casual vacancies. 
Directors appointed to fill casual vacancies are 
required to retire and stand for election at the 
first annual shareholders’ meeting after their 
appointment. The People, Remuneration and 
Nominations Committee recommends to the 
Board potential candidates for appointment as 
directors. The Committee follows the nomination 
and appointment processes set out in the People, 
Remuneration and Nominations Committee 
Charter available on the Company’s website. The 
Company enters into written agreements with each 
newly appointed director establishing the terms of 
their appointment.

Director Independence and Profiles

All of the Company’s directors, including the Chair, 
are independent directors for the purposes of the 
NZX Listing Rules as none of them are executives 

of the Company or have direct or indirect interests 
or relationships that could reasonably influence, 
or could reasonably be perceived to influence, 
in a material way, their decisions in relation to 
the Company. The profile for each director is 
available on the Company’s website and on page 
46-47 of the Annual Report. Information about 
director attendance at meetings and the date of 
appointment of each director is available on page 
51. Information on director ownership interests are 
set out on page 55.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Group believes that a diverse and inclusive 
workforce is essential for it to be able to deliver 
its strategic objectives and continue to meet its 
responsibilities to its customers, its employees, 
the communities in which it works, and its 
shareholders.

The Group is currently operating in accordance 
with, and applying the principles of, its Diversity 
and Inclusion Policy which is available on the 
Company’s website.

The Our People section on pages 20 and 23 of 
the Annual Report sets out more detail about our 
diversity and inclusion objectives and progress 
towards achieving them. In accordance with 
the Diversity and Inclusion Policy, the Board 
assesses those objectives and NZME’s progress 
towards achieving them on an annual basis. The 
Board is comfortable with the Company’s 2023 
performance with respect to its Diversity and 
Inclusion Policy and objectives but notes the 
ongoing nature of efforts to meet those objectives.

The table below includes the quantitative breakdown as to the gender composition of NZME’s Board and 
Officers as at the balance date.

As at

Board

Officers 1

Male

Female

31 December 2023

31 December 2022

2

2

3

3

Gender 
Diverse

0

0

Male

Female

4

7

3

3

Gender 
Diverse

0

0

1  The term ‘Officer’ is defined in the NZX Listing Rules as a person, however designated, who is concerned 
or takes part in the management of the Issuer’s business, but excludes (i) a person who does not report 
directly to the Board or (ii) a person who does not report directly to a person who reports to the Board. 
NZME has interpreted this to mean the Chief Executive and any person reporting to the Chief Executive 
or the Board directly. The numbers above therefore include the CEO and other members of the Group 
Executive Team.

52 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CORPORATE 
GOVERNANCE

CONTINUED

Director Access to Training, Information  
and Advice

The Board did not identify a need for any other 
standing Board committees.

On appointment the Company’s directors are 
offered induction training as to the responsibilities 
of the directors and to enable the director to 
become familiar with the Company’s operations 
and sites. Further training on pertinent topics is 
provided to the Board during the year. All directors 
have access to the advice and assistance of 
the General Counsel on the Board’s affairs and 
governance matters. In addition, all directors may 
access such information and seek independent 
advice as they consider necessary to fulfil their 
duties and responsibilities.

Performance Review

The Chair meets annually with directors of  
the Company to discuss their performances.  
The Board reviews its performance as a whole,  
and the performance of its committees, on an 
annual basis. The Board may choose to use external 
facilitators, where appropriate, to assist with 
reviewing the performance of directors, the Board 
and its committees.

PRINCIPLE 3 - BOARD COMMITTEES

The Board should use committees where this 
will enhance its effectiveness in key areas, while 
retaining Board responsibility.

The Board has two standing Committees; the Audit 
& Risk Committee and the People, Remuneration 
and Nominations Committee, to assist in carrying 
out its responsibilities. The Committees operate 
under Board approved charters which are available 
on the Company’s website.

The Board may establish other committees from 
time to time to deal with specific projects or matters 
relating to the Company’s various activities. 

The Board does not have a separate Health  
and Safety Committee, but Health and Safety  
is considered by the full Board. 

The Company also has an NZME Takeover Response 
Manual (not publicly available) as recommended by 
Recommendation 3.6 of the NZX Code.

Audit & Risk Committee

The Committee consists of three independent 
directors (one of whom has an accounting and 
financial background). The functions of the 
Committee are to:

• 

• 

• 

Review, consider and if necessary, investigate 
any reports or findings arising from any audit 
function either internally or externally;

Evaluate financial information submitted to it, 
along with relevant policies and procedures; and

Assess the effectiveness of risk management 
throughout the Group.

The Committee is also responsible for 
communicating and engaging with the external 
auditors and for oversight and review of the risk 
management framework. For further information, 
also refer to the Committee’s charter which is 
available on the Company’s website.

As at 31 December 2023, directors Barbara 
Chapman and David Gibson were members of the 
Audit & Risk Committee and it was chaired by Carol 
Campbell. Employees and external parties may 
attend meetings of the Audit & Risk Committee at 
the invitation of the Audit & Risk Committee.

People, Remuneration and Nominations 
Committee

The People, Remuneration and Nominations 
Committee ensures that remuneration policies and 
practices are consistent with the strategic goals 
of the Group and are relevant to the achievement 
of those goals. The Committee also reviews the 
remuneration of the CEO and, in consultation with 
the CEO, the remuneration packages of executives 
reporting directly to the CEO.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 53

The People, Remuneration and Nominations 
Committee also makes recommendations to 
the full Board regarding the composition of the 
Board, filling of vacancies, appointing additional 
directors to the Board, and to review and adopt 
corporate governance policies and practices which 
reflect contemporary standards in New Zealand, 
incorporating principles and guidelines issued 
by the Financial Markets Authority and the NZX. 
For further information, refer to the Committee’s 
charter available on the Company’s website. This 
charter was updated to reflect current best practice 

in December 2022 including changing the name of 
the committee previously knows as the Governance 
and Remuneration Committee.

As at 31 December 2023, directors Sussan Turner 
and Guy Horrocks were members of the People, 
Remuneration and Nominations Committee and 
it was chaired by David Gibson. Employees and 
external parties may attend meetings of the People, 
Remuneration and Nominations Committee at 
the invitation of the People, Remuneration and 
Nominations Committee.

Board & Committee Attendance 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 

Director 

Barbara Chapman

Carol Campbell

David Gibson

Guy Horrocks

Sussan Turner

Board

10 of 10

10 of 10

10 of 10

10 of 10

10 of 10

Audit & Risk

People, Remuneration 
and Nominations

4 of 4

4 of 4

3 of 4

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

5 of 5

2 of *2

5 of 5

*  Guy Horrocks was appointed to the People, Remuneration and Nominations Committee in June 2023 and 

attended his first committee meeting in October 2023.

PRINCIPLE 4 - REPORTING & DISCLOSURE

The Board should demand integrity in financial and 
non- financial reporting, and in the timeliness and 
balance of corporate disclosures.

Market Disclosure Policy

The Board has policies and procedures in place 
to keep investors and staff informed of material 
information about the Company and to ensure 
compliance with the continuous disclosure 
obligations under the Financial Markets Conduct 
Act 2013 and the NZX Listing Rules.

The Market Disclosure Policy (available on the 
Company’s website) is designed to ensure that:

• 

• 

There is full and timely disclosure of the 
Company’s activities and price sensitive 
information to shareholders and the market; and

All stakeholders (including shareholders, the 
market and other interested parties) have 
an equal opportunity to receive and obtain 
externally available information issued by the 
Company.

The Company will immediately notify the market of 
any material information concerning the Company 
in accordance with legislative and regulatory 
disclosure requirements.

54 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CORPORATE 
GOVERNANCE

CONTINUED

Corporate governance documents

The following documents have been adopted by 
the Company and are available on the Company’s 
website under the Corporate Governance section:

NZME’s Sustainability Commitment aligns with 
the UN Sustainability Development Goals – an 
international blueprint to achieve a better and more 
sustainable future for everyone.

• 

• 

NZME Constitution

Board Charter

•  Code of Conduct & Ethics

• 

• 

• 

• 

Remuneration Policy

Diversity and Inclusion Policy

Editorial Code of Ethics

Fraud Policy

•  Market Disclosure Policy

•  Whistleblower Policy

• 

• 

• 

• 

Securities Trading Policy

Audit & Risk Committee Charter

People, Remuneration and Nominations
Committee Charter

Risk Management Policy

•  Health and Safety Policy

•  Modern Slavery Statements (pursuant to 

Australian legislation)

Financial Reporting and Disclosure

The Company is committed to providing financial 
reporting that is balanced, clear and objective. The 
Audit & Risk Committee oversees the quality, integrity 
and timeliness of external reporting. The Group’s 
Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 
31 December 2023 are set out on pages 48 to 103 of 
the Annual Report. Also refer to the reports from the 
Chair and the CEO in this Annual Report and the NZME 
Full Year 2023 Results Presentation (available on the 
Company’s website) for additional information.

Non-Financial Reporting and Disclosure

The Company provides non-financial disclosures 
relating to Health and Safety, Risk Management, our 
interaction with our communities, people and our 
environment – see our Sustainability Commitment. 
We also include information about our performance 
against our operational priorities during the year.

Combined with our promise to keep Kiwis in the 
know, NZME’s commitment to sustainable practices 
contributes to the prosperity of our business and 
our communities, people and the environment.

In 2023 we measured our progress against key 
initiatives and objectives for each of the three pillars 
of our Sustainability Commitment: Our Communities, 
Our People and Our Environment. This is discussed on 
pages 16 to 26 of the Annual Report.

NZME continues to develop its Sustainability 
Commitment with the guidance of the Board. 
Pursuant to the Financial Sector (Climate-related 
Disclosure and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 
the Company has commenced making climate-
related disclosures in this report on pages 27 to 43.

NZME’s Consolidated Financial Statements are 
audited by the Company’s external auditor, and its 
GHG emissions have been subject to independent 
assurance. Non-financial information included in 
this Annual Report and other reporting disclosures 
that has not been audited or been the subject of 
external assurance is internally verified and checked 
by NZME’s management team, compared to the 
previous reporting period and cross-checked 
against other data.

PRINCIPLE 5 - REMUNERATION

The remuneration of directors and executives 
should be transparent, fair and reasonable.

Remuneration Policy

The Company’s Remuneration Policy (available on 
its website) outlines the Company’s approach to the 
remuneration of its directors and executives. The 
People, Remuneration and Nominations Committee 
is responsible for reviewing non-executive directors’ 
remuneration and benefits. The pool available to 
be paid to non- executive directors is subject to 
shareholder approval. The current directors pool 
is fixed at $900,000 per annum (as set out in the 
Explanatory Memorandum for the Demerger of 

NZME by APN dated 11 May 2012) The levels of fixed 
fees payable to non-executive directors should 
reflect the time commitment and responsibilities 
of the role. The People, Remuneration and 
Nominations Committee will obtain independent 
advice, as necessary, and will also consider the 
results of market comparison and a benchmarking 
assessment in setting the fixed fees payable to non-
executive directors.

While the Company does not pay equity-based 
remuneration to its non-executive directors, it 
encourages those directors to hold shares in 
the Company to better align their interests with 

Directors’ Remuneration

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 55

the interests of other shareholders.The People, 
Remuneration and Nominations Committee is 
also responsible for reviewing the remuneration 
of the CEO and any executive directors and, in 
consultation with the CEO, the remuneration 
packages of executives reporting directly to 
the CEO. The Company conducts external 
benchmarking analysis in order to determine the 
market rate for a role. The Company provides a 
combination of cash and non-cash benefits and 
takes a total remuneration approach. The Company 
reviews remuneration with the objective of 
achieving pay equality, including by gender.

The fees paid to each director depends on the duties of the director, including committee work. Current fees 
per annum are as follows:

1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023

Chairman of the NZME Board

Membership of the NZME Board

Chairman of NZME Board Committees

Membership of NZME Board Committees

Membership of OneRoof Advisory Committee

Fees ($)

170,000

100,000

20,000

10,000

7,500

Total  
($)

180,000

120,000

130,000

Total fees paid to each director during 2023 are shown in the following table: 

Date  
appointed

Chairman 
of the 
Board ($)

Board 
Member 
($)

Committee 
Chair ($)

Committee 
Member 
($)

Advisory 
Committee 
($)

Barbara Chapman

18 April 2018

170,000

10,000

Carol Campbell

24 June 2016

100,000

20,000

David Gibson

Guy Horrocks

8 December 
2017

8 February  
2021

Sussan Turner

16 July 2018

Total fees paid 2023

100,000

20,000

10,000

100,000

100,000

5,000

3,750

108,750

10,000

3,750

113,750

652,500

Directors are also entitled to be reimbursed for all reasonable travel, accommodation and other costs 
incurred by them in connection with their attendance at NZME board or shareholder meetings or otherwise 
in connection with NZME business. Any such amounts are not included in the table above.

Chief Executive Officer’s Remuneration

Salary 
($) A

Bonus 
($) B

TIP  
($) C

Benefits 
($) D

Total  
($)

Michael Boggs

873,088

318,906

1,585,259

35,760

2,813,012

A Salary includes normal basic salary and paid leave. B Bonus payments are those paid during the current 
accounting period and excludes any bonus accrual not yet paid. This Bonus relates to the 2022 Financial 
Year. C TIP relates to the value of shares issued on 3 January 2024 under the Group’s 2020 Total Incentive Plan 
(“TIP”) that had an exercise date of 31 December 2023. These shares relate to the 2020 performance and were 
originally valued based on a share price of $0.398 in 2020 but were valued at $1.06 per share at the time of 
issue and accordingly the higher value is recorded as remuneration for the year. D Benefits relate to company 
contributions for KiwiSaver.

56 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CORPORATE 
GOVERNANCE

CONTINUED

Given the difficult trading environment and 
performance in 2023, no incentive payments will be 
made in 2024 to the CEO or Executive in respect of 
the 2023 year.

Michael Boggs held 1,505,390 shares in the 
company as at 31 December 2023 with an additional 
1,012,575 shares issued to him on 3 January 2024 
in respect of the 2020 Group’s Total Incentive Plan 
(“TIP”) and the short term incentive component 
of the 2022 TIP. In addition to the remuneration 
disclosed above as at 20 February 2024, Michael 
Boggs held 1,292,238 performance rights issued to 

him under the various TIP shemes. Please refer to 
note 4.3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements 
for a summary of the TIP and the performance 
criteria used to determine performance based 
payments.

Employee Remuneration

The Group paid remuneration including benefits 
in excess of $100,000 to employees (other than 
directors) during the year ended 31 December 2023. 
The salary banding for these employees are disclosed 
in the following table (bands with zero number of 
employees have been excluded).

Remuneration Amount

Employees

Remuneration Amount

Employees

$100,001 - $110,000

$110,001 - $120,000

$120,001 - $130,000

$130,001 - $140,000

$140,001 - $150,000

$150,001 - $160,000

$160,001 - $170,000

$170,001 - $180,000

$180,001 - $190,000

$190,001 - $200,000

$200,001 - $210,000

$210,001 - $220,000

$220,001 - $230,000

$230,001 - $240,000

$240,001 - $250,000

$250,001 - $260,000

$260,001 - $270,000

$270,001 - $280,000

$280,001 - $290,000

$290,001 - $300,000

$300,001 - $310,000

$310,001 - $320,000

$320,001 - $330,000

$330,001 - $340,000

$340,001 - $350,000

$350,001 - $360,000

$360,001 - $370,000

$390,001 - $400,000

$400,001 - $410,000

$420,001 - $430,000

$470,001 - $480,000

$490,001 - $500,000

$510,001 - $520,000

$560,001 - $570,000

$660,001 - $670,000

$690,001 - $700,000

$710,001 - $720,000

$730,001 - $740,000

$910,001 - $920,000

$1,270,001 - $1,280,000

$2,810,001 - $2,820,000

82

76

55

49

40

34

18

15

13

12

13

7

11

5

7

7

7

3

2

2

1

2

2

2

2

2

2

1

1

2

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Total number of employees that were paid remuneration of $100,000+

487

The remuneration above includes all remuneration paid to permanent employees, including fixed 
remuneration, employer KiwiSaver contributions, medical aid contributions, bonuses, commission, 
settlements and redundancies.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 57

PRINCIPLE 6 - RISK MANAGEMENT

Directors should have a sound understanding of 
the material risks faced by the issuer and how to 
manage them. The Board should regularly verify 
that the issuer has appropriate processes that 
identify and manage potential and material risks.

Risk Management Framework

The Audit & Risk Committee is responsible for the 
oversight and independent review of the Group’s 
risk management framework, including:

• 

• 

• 

• 

Review and approval of the risk management 
policy;

Receiving and considering reports on risk 
management;

Assessing the effectiveness of the Group’s 
responses to risk; and

Providing the Board with regular reports  
on risk management.

The Group has a formal Risk Management Policy 
(available on its website) and is committed to the 
consistent, proactive and effective monitoring and 
management of risk throughout the organisation,  
in accordance with best practice and the NZME Risk 
Management Framework and Guidelines.

The Board is ultimately responsible for the 
effectiveness, oversight and implementation of the 
Group’s approach to risk management.

The CEO is responsible for:

• 

The management of strategic, operational and 
financial risk of the Group;

•  Continually monitoring the Group’s progress 

against financial and operational performance 
targets;

• 

• 

• 

The day-to-day identification, assessment and 
management of risks applicable to the Group;

Implementation of risk management controls, 
processes and policies and procedures 
appropriate for the Group; and

Driving a culture of risk management 
throughout the Group.

The Company’s Risk Committee (a management 
committee) acts as a governance forum to assist 
the CEO and the Executive Team in fulfilling their 
corporate governance responsibilities.

This committee provides assurance that the 
following aspects are managed appropriately:

• 

Strategic and operational risk management;

•  Workplace Health and Safety matters;

• 

• 

Legal, regulatory and policy compliance;

Technology and security matters;

•  Climate related risk; and

• 

Business continuity planning.

The Group is a diversified media company and 
is subject to diverse types of risk including, but 
not limited to cyber security, legal and regulatory 
compliance, financial and market, climate risk, 
government policy and political, reputation and 
brand, operational risks and trading conditions.

The Group recognises that in order to achieve its 
strategic objectives it must be willing to take and 
accept informed risks. Risks relating to innovation, 
attracting and retaining talent, and content to drive 
audiences and address the needs of advertisers are 
encouraged within defined parameters. However, in 
doing so, it is not acceptable to trade off financial or 
strategic returns by compromising compliance with 
the law, the safety of our people, or our reputation 
as a responsible corporate citizen and provider of 
news, sport and entertainment.

When setting the appetite for taking and accepting 
risk, the Group also considers the risk posed by 
inaction in what is a fast-paced and disrupted market.

The Group’s approach to risk management 
is assessed at least annually by the Audit 
& Risk Committee of the Board in order to 
make a recommendation to the full Board on 
the appropriateness of the Company’s Risk 
Management Framework and Guidelines.

For additional information on financial risks, please 
also refer to Note 4.7 of the Consolidated Financial 
Statements.

58 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CORPORATE 
GOVERNANCE

CONTINUED

effectiveness, with the use of NZME’s engagement 
tool 'HearMe'. This provides Leadership teams 
with valuable feedback and insights into areas of 
concern and where improvements can be made.

Health and safety training forms part of staff 
inductions and is further expanded through a range 
of training workshops to drive awareness of NZME’s 
health and safety obligations, critical risks, and the 
resources available to satisfy these.

NZME maintains a Wellness and Safety page on its 
intranet with sections for safety across NZME.

To ensure effective worker involvement, NZME 
has multiple Health and Safety Committees in 
place across New Zealand and health and safety 
performance is communicated throughout all levels 
of NZME through leadership team meetings and 
internal business communications. NZME also has 
a range of internally trained Wellbeing Advocates 
and Women’s Health Advocates who provide 
confidential support and guidance to employees.

Lost Time Injuries was a total of three across the 
year, compared to three in 2022. Total reported 
incidents were 29 in 2023, and were also 29 in 2022.

Health and Safety

The NZME Board Charter states that the role of the 
Board includes ensuring that the Group health and 
safety, environmental practices and culture comply 
with legal requirements, reflect best practice and 
are recognised by employees and contractors as 
key priorities for the Group. 

NZME does not have a separate Board-level Health 
and Safety Committee as Health and Safety is dealt 
with regularly by the full Board.

The Health and Safety Policy(updated in June 2022 
and available on the Company’s website) sets out 
the Company’s health and safety principles and 
explains that the Board regularly monitors key 
health and safety performance indicators, the 
effectiveness of the Company’s health and safety 
system and controls that are in place to manage the 
risks that arise from NZME’s operations. 

Health and Safety is included on the Company’s Risk 
Register. The Company’s annual Health and Safety 
Plan captures the projects and objectives for the year 
to prioritise responses to the identified risks.

The Company records and monitors critical health 
and safety risks in a separate Health and Safety 
Risk Register. Currently that register is reviewed 
and monitored by the Risk Committee, who meet 
monthly and receive and review reporting on health 
and safety performance, trends and updates, with 
key matters and progress against the annual plan 
being reported to the Board.

In 2023, areas of focus included continuing to manage 
ongoing risks, monitoring employee health, safety 
and wellbeing engagement, and undertaking our 
‘Connected Culture’ workshops across the business 
which emphasised the culture we want to sustain 
at NZME, the responsibilities and expectations of 
our leaders, how to raise issues regarding bullying, 
harassment and other harmful behaviours and NZME’s 
commitment to addressing these.

Health and Safety advice and direction are overseen 
by the Culture and Performance team and a full-time 
Health, Safety and Compliance Manager.

Engagement in health and safety is monitored 
through questions that target employees’ views and 
opinions on health and safety initiatives and their 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 59

PRINCIPLE 7 - AUDITORS

The Board should ensure the quality and 
independence of the external audit process.

Refer to note 2.2.4 of the Consolidated Financial 
Statements for fees paid to the auditors, 
PricewaterhouseCoopers, for the year ended  
31 December 2023.

The Audit & Risk Committee Charter requires the 
Committee to assess the following:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The independence of the auditors;

The ability of the auditors to provide additional 
services which may be occasionally required;

The competency and reputation of the auditors;

The projected audit fees; and

Review the appointment, performance and 
remuneration of external auditors.

The Audit & Risk Committee also monitors and 
approves any services provided by the auditors other 
than in their statutory role and receives confirmation 
from the auditors as to their independence from 
the Company. This is undertaken on a service by 
service basis and assesses whether the service 
is permissible under Professional and Ethical 
Standard 1 (“PES 1”) issued by the New Zealand 
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, ensuring 
that any potential threat to independence is 
identified and appropriate safeguards to eliminate 
the threat or reduce the threat to an acceptable 
level are established. The Audit & Risk Committee 
receives an annual confirmation from the auditor 
as to their independence from the Group. The 
auditor is also required to provide the Audit & Risk 
Committee with a detailed analysis of fees relating 
to non-audit services provided during the year, 
including a description of potential threats to their 
independence and the applicable safeguards 
implemented by the auditor and the Company to 
either mitigate those threats or reduce them to an 
acceptable level as required by PES 1. The Audit & 
Risk Committee takes the nature of the services 
provided, the quantum of the fee, the reason for 
the additional services and whether the services 
are likely to be one-off or repetitive in nature into 
consideration when evaluating and concluding on 
auditor independence.

For the year ended 31 December 2023, given the 
nature of the services provided and based on the 
Committee’s continuous monitoring of auditor 
independence, the Audit & Risk Committee do 
not believe that the non-audit services provided 
by the auditors compromised their objectivity and 
independence.

The Company requires the external auditor to attend 
the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting (“ASM”) to answer 
questions from shareholders in relation to the audit. 
The Group’s auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, 
attended the last ASM on 26 April 2023.

Internal Audit

The Audit & Risk Committee is responsible for 
reviewing the integrity and effectiveness of the 
internal audit function. NZME operates a co-sourced 
internal audit programme that utilises a mix of 
self-certifications, scheduled control testing by 
Group Financial Services, ad hoc assignments, 
investigations by risk and compliance personnel 
and a structured internal audit programme executed 
by an external firm.

Any reporting from external parties is presented 
to the Audit & Risk Committee and any significant 
findings from other internal activities are reported  
to the Audit & Risk Committee.

PRINCIPLE 8 - SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS  
& RELATIONS

The Board should respect the rights of shareholders 
and foster constructive relationships with shareholders 
that encourage them to engage with the issuer.

In addition to holding its Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, 
NZME seeks to regularly engage with shareholders to 
ensure they are informed about our activities and our 
progress against our stated priorities. 

The NZME website has a dedicated Investor Relations 
section containing NZX / ASX announcements, 
presentations and webcasts, financial reports, 
frequently asked questions and other information 
that might be useful to our shareholders.

The share registry is maintained by Link Market 
Services and their contact details are available 
under the Investor Relations section of the 
Company’s website. Shareholders can elect to 
receive communications electronically.

60 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

STATUTORY 
DISCLOSURES

Following each results announcement, NZME holds 
an investor call to present the results and to allow 
investors to ask questions. This is usually followed 
by an investor roadshow during which the CEO and 
other members of the Executive aim to meet with as 
many shareholders as possible. In 2023, NZME held 
a virtual Investor Day in November. 

where possible, to distribute a notice of shareholder 
meeting as soon as possible and in any event at 
least 20 working days prior to any shareholder 
meeting. During the financial year ended 31 
December 2023, shareholders were given 20 
working days’ notice of the annual shareholder 
meeting of the Company held on 26 April 2023.

Shareholders are entitled to exercise their voting 
rights as provided for under the applicable 
legislation and listing rules.

In order for shareholders to fully participate in 
shareholder meetings, the Board will endeavour 

Interest Register Entries

In accordance with section 211(1)(e) of the 
Companies Act 1993, particulars of general 
disclosures of interest in the Interest Register of 
NZME for current directors are set out in the table 
below. Disclosures during 2023 are noted in italics.

Director

Position

Barbara Chapman

Chairman

Deputy Chair

Carol Campbell

David Gibson

Guy Horrocks

Director

Director

Chair

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Deputy Chair

Shareholder

Director

Shareholder

Shareholder

Shareholder

Company

Genesis Energy Limited

The New Zealand Initiative

Fletcher Building Limited

Bank of New Zealand

NZ Post Limited

Asset Plus Limited

T&G Global Limited

Chubb Insurance New Zealand Limited

Rangatira Limited

Contact Energy Limited

Goodman Property Trust (NS)

Solve Data, Inc.

New Zealand Mint Limited

Tracksuit Limited

Setpoint Technologies Inc

Ezirent

Sussan Turner

Director and shareholder

Aspire2 Group Limited

Pro-Chancellor

Auckland University of Technology (AUT)

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 61

Disclosures of Directors’ interests in share 
transactions

During 2023, no disclosures were made in the 
Interests Register by Directors as to the acquisition 
or disposal of relevant interests in Company shares 
under section 148 of the Companies Act 1993.

Directors’ interests in shares

Ordinary shares held by directors and parties 
associated with them are as follows:

Director

Barbara Chapman

Carol Campbell

David Gibson

Number of shares as at 31 December 2023

73,000 

150,000 

50,000 

Use of Company information

No notices have been received by the Board under 
section 145 of the Companies Act 1993 with regard 
to the use of Company information received by 
the Directors in their capacities as Directors of the 
Company or its subsidiary companies.

Indemnities or insurance effected for directors 

In accordance with Section 162 of the Companies Act 
1993 and the Company’s Constitution, the Company 
has indemnified and arranged insurance for all directors 
and executive officers to the extent permitted by law for 
liabilities arising out of the performance of their normal 
duties as directors and officers. The total amount of 
insurance for directors and officers contract premiums 
for the period was $867,487.

SUBSIDIARY COMPANY INFORMATION

NZME’s subsidiary companies are listed at Note 6.1  
of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Directors of Subsidiary Companies

As at 31 December 2023, Michael Boggs (CEO) 
and David Mackrell (CFO) were directors of the 
wholly owned subsidiaries listed in Note 6.1 of the 
Consolidated Financial Statements, other than 
NZME Australia Pty Limited. Michael Boggs and 
Mark O’Sullivan (a professional director resident 
in Australia) were directors of NZME Australia 
Pty Limited as at 31 December 2023. Michael 
Boggs, David Mackrell, Greg Hornblow and Peng 

Yin (director representing OneRoof’s minority 
shareholder) were directors of the subsidiary 
OneRoof Limited, in which an 80% interest was 
held up until 18 August 2023 when it became a 
wholly owned subsidiary, as detailed in Note 6.1 
of the Consolidated Financial Statements. Peng 
Yin ceased to be a director of OneRoof Limited on 
18 August 2023. No other person ceased to be a 
director of any of the companies listed in Note 6.1 of 
the Consolidated Financial Statements during the 
financial year ended 31 December 2023.

Other than Mark O’Sullivan who received A$10,000 
for his services as a director of NZME Australia Pty 
Limited, these directors did not receive any fees or 
other benefit for their services as directors to any of 
these companies. Michael Boggs, David Mackrell and 
Greg Hornblow receive remuneration as employees 
of the Company which are not related to their duties 
as directors of these companies. Peng Yin who 
ceased to be a director of OneRoof Limited on  
18 August 2023 received remuneration through  
his company, Hougarden.com Limited, which 
provides services to OneRoof Limited. 

Entries in interest registers of Subsidiary 
Companies

For each subsidiary company in which they act as 
a director Michael Boggs and David Mackrell have 
made general disclosures of interests in all other 
subsidiary companies as a result of their executive 
positions at the Company and their positions as 

62 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

STATUTORY 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

directors of the other subsidiary companies. Peng 
Yin has made a general disclosure of interest in the 
OneRoof Limited Interest Register arising from his 
position as director and shareholder of Hougarden.
com Limited and Hougarden Motors Limited.

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

Substantial product holders

According to notices given to the Company under 
the Financial markets Conduct Act 2013 the 
following persons were substantial product holders 
of the Company as at 31 December 2023. There 
were 183,913,614 ordinary shares in the Company 
at that date. The Company did not have any other 
quoted voting products at that date.

Shareholder 

Number of shares in 
which relevant interest 
is held

Date of notice

Repertoire Partners LP 1

36,689,784

18 April 2023

Spheria Asset Management Pty Ltd

24,609,085

20 September 2023

Osmium Partners LLC

Pinnacle Investment Management  
Group Limited

17,076,410

25 August 2023

9,523,767

11 August 2023

1 Repertoire Partners LP’s substantial product holder notice dated 18 April 2023 discloses a holding of 
22,829,094 ordinary shares (12.413% of the Company’s shares held at the date the of notice) or 36,689,784 
ordinary shares (19.949% of the Company’s shares held at the date of the notice) which includes certain cash 
settled swaps (derivative relevant interest in respect of 13,860,690 ordinary shares). The latter is included in 
the table above. 2 UBS AG London Branch UBS Securities Australia Ltd and UBS Securities LLC.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 63

Top 20 shareholders

As at 19 February 2024

Rank

Investor Name

Total Units % Issued Capital

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited

Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited

Bnp Paribas Nominees Pty Ltd

J P Morgan Nominees Australia Pty Limited

Accident Compensation Corporation

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited

Bnp Paribas Nominees (Nz) Limited

FNZ Custodians Limited

Bnp Paribas Nominees Pty Ltd Acf Clearstream

10

Forsyth Barr Custodians Limited

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Bnpp Noms Pty Ltd Hub24 Custodial Serv Ltd

Michael Raymond Boggs

Bnp Paribas Noms Pty Ltd

New Zealand Permanent Trustees Limited

JBWERE (Nz) Nominees Limited

Odyls Pty Ltd

New Zealand Depository Nominee

Leh Soon Yong

Merrill Lynch (Australia) Nominees Pty Limited

20

Citibank Nominees (Nz) Ltd

36,744,154

26,560,820

11,832,258

9,449,796

8,537,352

8,140,775

8,053,071

7,823,117

6,043,468

4,020,558

2,583,602

2,517,965

2,396,957

2,270,189

2,073,918

1,856,539

1,825,397

1, 41 6 ,11 6

1,138,782

1,134,498

19.68

14.23

6.34

5.06

4.57

4.36

4.31

4.19

3.24

2.15

1.38

1.35

1.28

1.22

1.11

0.99

0.98

0.76

0.61

0.61

Total

146,419,332

78.42

64 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

STATUTORY 
DISCLOSURES

CONTINUED

Spread of Quoted Financial Product holders

As at 19 February 2024

Range of Securities Held

Holders

Holders %

Issued Capital

Issued Capital %

1-1,000

1,001-5,000

5,001-10,000

10,001-50,000

50,001-100,000

Greater than 100,000

3,295

65.93

812,096

912

260

371

71

89

18.25

2,278,764

5.2

7.42

1.42

1.78

2,044,373

8,664,381

5,118,022

167,762,825

Total

4,998

100

186,680,461

0.43 

1.22 

1.10 

4.64 

2.74 

89.87 

100 

OTHER INFORMATION

Waivers from NZX

During the financial year ended 31 December 2023, 
the Company was not granted any waivers from any 
of the NZX Listing Rules, nor did the Company rely 
on any previously granted or published waiver from 
the NZX Listing Rules.

Donations

In accordance with section 211(1)(h) of the Companies 
Act 1993, NZME notes that the Group made donations 
of $6,237 during the year ended 31 December 
2023. In addition, and as discussed elsewhere in 
this Annual Report (our Sustainability Commitment), 
NZME regularly donates advertising space and other 
services to a number of worthwhile charities.

Credit rating

As at the date of this Annual Report NZME does not 
have a credit rating.

Director appointments under the  
Company's Constitution

Rule 2.4.1 of the NZX Listing Rules allows a company 
to include in its Constitution a right for a product 
holder to appoint a director to the Board under 
certain circumstances. As at 31 December 2023, 
none of the Directors were appointed pursuant to 
Rule 2.4.1.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 65

66 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NZME LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL 
STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 67

68 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CONTENTS

Directors' Statement

Consolidated Income Statement

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

Consolidated Balance Sheet

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements*

1.0 Basis of Preparation

2.0 Group Performance

3.0 Operating Assets and Liabilities

4.0 Capital Management

5.0 Taxation

6.0 Group Structure and Investments in Other Entities

7.0 Related Parties

8.0 Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

9.0 Subsequent Events

Independent Auditor's Report

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

77

84

97

112

115

119

120

120

121

*  The notes to the financial statements have been grouped into nine sections; aimed at grouping items of 
a similar nature together. The Basis of Preparation section presents a summary of material information 
and general accounting policies that are necessary to understand the basis on which these consolidated 
financial statements have been prepared. Accounting policies specific to a particular note are included in 
that note and are boxed for ease of reference. Significant accounting estimates and judgments relevant to 
a particular note are also included in the relevant note, and are clearly marked as such. A summary of the 
significant accounting estimates and judgments is also included under the Basis of Preparation section on 
pages 75 to 76.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 69

DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT

The Directors are pleased to present the consolidated financial statements of NZME Limited (the 

"Company") and its subsidiaries (together the "Group") for the year ended 31 December 2023, 

incorporating the consolidated financial statements and the independent auditor's report.

The Directors are responsible, on behalf of the Company, for presenting these consolidated 

financial statements in accordance with applicable New Zealand legislation and generally 

acceptable accounting practices in New Zealand in order to present consolidated financial 

statements that present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Group as  

at 31 December 2023 and the results of the Group's operations and cash flows for the year  

then ended.

The consolidated financial statements for the Group as presented on pages 70 to 120 are 

signed on behalf of the Board of Directors, and are authorised for issue on the date below.  

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors 

Barbara Chapman 
Chairman   

Carol Campbell
Director 

Date: 20 February 2024 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
70 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CONSOLIDATED INCOME 
STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Revenue

Finance and other income

Total revenue and other income

People costs

Print and distribution

Agency commission and marketing

Content

Property

IT and communications

Other expenses

Expenses from operations before finance costs,  
depreciation, amortisation

Depreciation and amortisation

Finance costs

Share of joint ventures' and associates' net loss after tax

Profit before income tax expense 

Income tax expense

Net profit after tax

Profit for the year is attributable to:

Owners of the Company

Non-controlling interest

2023 
$’000

2022 
$’000

340,752

355,433

6,889

10,453

347,641

365,886

(146,648)

(149,647)

(50,755)

(51,463)

(36,055)

(41,226)

(19,667)

(18,875)

(7,461)

(11,008)

(7,336)

(12,177)

(21,402)

(20,711)

(292,996)

(301,435)

(28,623)

(27,391)

(7,656)

(5,665)

Note

2.1

2.1

2.1

2.2.2

2.2.3

6.2.2

(588)

17,778

5.1

(5,578)

12,200

(156)

31,239

(8,559)

22,680

12,789

23,383

(589)

(703)

12,200

22,680

Cents

Cents

Earnings per share attributable to the ordinary shareholders  
of the Company

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

2.3

2.3

6.95

6.69

 12.09 

 11.69 

The above Consolidated Income Statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT 
OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 71

Net profit after tax

Other comprehensive income

Items that may be reclassified to profit or loss

Effective (loss) / gain on hedging instruments

Reclassification to profit or loss

Net loss on hedging instruments

Net exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss

Share of revaluation of joint ventures' and associates' assets

Other comprehensive (loss) / income, net of tax

Total comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income attributable to:

Owners of the Company

Non-controlling interest

Note

2023 
$’000

2022 
$’000

12,200

22,680

4.2

4.2

4.2

4.2

(1)

(204)

(205)

(2)

-

(207)

11,933

166

(199)

(33)

5

51

23

22,703

12,582

23,406

(589)

(703)

11,993

22,703

The above Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income should be read in conjunction with the 
accompanying notes.

72 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2023

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Inventories

Derivative financial instruments

Total current assets

Non-current assets

Intangible assets

Property, plant and equipment

Right-of-use assets

Other financial assets

Equity accounted investments

Other receivables and prepayments

Deferred tax asset

Total non-current assets

Total assets

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Current lease liabilities

Current tax provision

Total current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Non-current lease liabilities

Interest bearing liabilities

Other payables

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

Net assets

EQUITY

Share capital

Reserves

Retained earnings

Total Company interest

Non-controlling interest

Total equity

Note

2023 
$’000

2022 
$’000

4.5

3.4

3.5

3.1

3.2

3.3

6.2.2

3.4

5.2

3.6

4.5.2

4.5.2

4.5.1

6.1.1

5,524

45,057

5,084

-

5,670

48,751

5,644

279

55,665

60,344

142,445

143,779

20,311

58,233

815

2,768

4,453

5,709

24,598

63,657

815

3,443

5,642

3,959

234,734

245,893

290,399

306,237

48,840

12,572

269

61,681

72,105

23,490

676

52,477

11,596

1,674

65,747

79,578

23,134

-

96,271

102,712

157,952

168,459

132,447

137,778

4.1

4.2

345,365

344,473

5,416

5,282

(218,334)

(211,188)

132,447

138,567

-

(789)

132,447

137,778

The above Consolidated Balance Sheet should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT  
OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 73

Attributable to owners of the Company

Note

Share  
capital 
$’000

Reserves 
$’000

Retained 
earnings 
$’000

Total 
$’000

Non- 
controlling 
interest 
$’000

Total 
equity 
$’000

Balance at 1 January 2022

361,758

4,920 (209,478)

157,200

(86)

157,114 

Net profit / (loss) after tax

Other comprehensive income 

Total comprehensive  
income / (loss)

Dividends paid

Supplementary dividends paid

Tax credit on supplementary 
dividends paid

4.4.2

4.4.2

-

-

-

-

-

-

Repurchase of shares

4.1

(17,599)

-

23

23

-

-

-

-

Transfer from revaluation reserve

Share based payments expense

4.2

4.2

-

-

(259)

1,683

2019 total incentive plan ("TIP") 
settlement

314

(1,085)

23,383

23,383

(703)

22,680 

-

23

-

23 

23,383

23,406

(703)

22,703

(25,352)

(25,352)

(3,171)

(3,171)

3,171

3,171

-

(17,599)

259

-

-

-

1,683

(771)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

(25,352)

(3,171)

3,171

(17,599)

-

1,683

(771)

Balance at 31 December 2022

344,473 

5,282 

(211,188)

138,567 

(789)

137,778 

Balance at 1 January 2023

344,473 

5,282 

(211,188)

138,567 

(789)

137,778 

Net profit / (loss) after tax

Other comprehensive loss 

Total comprehensive  
(loss) / income

Dividends paid

Supplementary dividends paid

Tax credit on supplementary 
dividends paid

Equity transaction with  
non-controlling interest

Deferred tax on share schemes

Share based payments expense

4.4.2

4.4.2

6.1.1

4.1

4.2

- 

- 

- 

-

- 

- 

-

892

- 

12,789

12,789

(589)

12,200

(207)

- 

(207)

- 

(207)

(207)

12,789

12,582

(589)

11,993

(16,552)

(16,552)

(2,103)

(2,103)

2,103 

2,103 

-

- 

- 

(16,552)

(2,103)

2,103 

(3,383)

(3,383)

1,378 

(2,005)

-

- 

- 

-

-

- 

341 

-

- 

892

341 

-

- 

- 

892

341 

132,447

Balance at 31 December 2023

345,365

5,416 

(218,334)

132,447

The above Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity should be read in conjunction with the 
accompanying notes.

74 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT 
OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

Cash flows from operating activities

Receipts from customers

Payments to suppliers and employees

Government grants

Dividends received

Interest received

Interest paid

Income taxes paid

Note

2023
$’000

2022 
$’000

345,757

352,191

(293,429)

(301,078)

3,651

4,080

88

445

75

401

(7,167)

(6,132)

(7,839)

(12,048)

Net cash inflows from operating activities

4.6

41,506

37,489

Cash flows from investing activities

Payments for intangible assets

Payments for property, plant and equipment

Acquisition of BusinessDesk

Acquisition of Radio Wanaka assets

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment

(7,723)

(3,314)

-

-

30

(5,723)

(4,963)

(2,717)

(892)

14

Net cash outflows from investing activities

(11,007)

(14,281)

Cash flows from financing activities

Proceeds from borrowings

Repayments of borrowings

Repurchase of shares

Payments for borrowing cost

Dividends paid to Company's shareholders

Payments to non-controlling interest

Payments for lease liability principal

Net cash outflows from financing activities

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year

4.5.1

4.5.1

4.1

4.5.1

4.4.2

6.1.1

4.5.2

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year

4.5.1

82,500

71,250

(82,500)

(47,250)

-

-

(17,599)

(166)

(16,552)

(25,352)

(952)

-

(13,141)

(11,959)

(30,645)

(31,076)

(146)

5,670

5,524

(7,868)

13,538

5,670

The above Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying 
notes.

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 75

1.0  BASIS OF PREPARATION

1.1 

REPORTING ENTITY AND  
STATUTORY BASE

NZME Limited (NZX:NZM and ASX:NZM) is a for-profit 
company limited by ordinary shares which are publicly 
traded on the NZX Main Board and the Australian 
Securities Exchange as a Foreign Exempt Listing. NZME 
Limited is incorporated and domiciled in New Zealand. 
It is registered under the Companies Act 1993 and is 
a FMC reporting entity under Part 7 of the Financial 
Markets Conduct Act 2013. The entity’s registered office 
is 2 Graham Street, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand.

NZME Limited (the "Company" or "Parent") and its 
subsidiaries' (together the "Group") principal activity 
during the financial year was the operation of an 
integrated media and entertainment business.

1.2  GENERAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

These consolidated financial statements have been 
prepared in accordance with New Zealand Generally 
Accepted Accounting Practice ("NZ GAAP"). They 
comply with New Zealand equivalents to International 
Financial Reporting Standards ("NZ IFRS") and 
other applicable Financial Reporting Standards, as 
appropriate for for-profit entities. The consolidated 
financial statements also comply with International 
Financial Reporting Standards Accounting Standards 
("IFRS Accounting Standards"). The consolidated 
financial statements have also been prepared in 
accordance with Part 7 of the Financial Markets  
Conduct Act 2013 and the NZX Listing Rules.

The Group has used non-GAAP measures which are 
not prepared in accordance with NZ IFRS in relation 
to the following:

• 

• 

• 

total operating adjusted EBITDA (note 2.1); 

net tangible liabilities (note 3.7); and

exceptional items (note 2.2.1).

These measures should not be viewed in isolation, 
nor considered as a substitute for measures reported 
in accordance with NZ IFRS. Non-GAAP financial 
measures may not be comparable to similarly titled 
amounts reported by other companies.

The material accounting policies adopted in the 
preparation of the consolidated financial statements 
are either set out below, or in the relevant note. 
These policies have been consistently applied to all 
the years presented, unless otherwise stated. These 
consolidated financial statements are presented for 
the Group and were approved for issue by the Board 
of Directors on 20 February 2024.

1.2.1  Basis of measurement

These consolidated financial statements have been 
prepared under the historical cost convention with 
the exception of certain items for which specific 
accounting policies are identified.

1.2.2  Certain Prior period comparatives

Certain prior period information has been reclassified 
to ensure consistency with current year disclosures 
and to provide more meaningful comparison. The 
prior period information that has been reclassified is:

• 

The expenses from operations before finance 
costs, depreciation, amortisation has been 
represented in the income statement based  
on its nature.

•  Capital work in progress has been represented 
in the balance sheet, cash flow statement, the 
intangible assets note (note 3.1), the property, 
plant and equipment note (note 3.2) and the net 
tangible liabilities (note 3.7).

• 

The segment reporting has been consolidated 
with all information now presented in note 2.1.

1.2.3  Foreign currency translation

Functional and presentation currency

Items included in the financial statements of each  
of the Group's entities are measured using the 
currency of the primary economic environment  
in which the entity operates (functional currency). 
The consolidated financial statements are presented 
in New Zealand dollars, which is the Company's 
functional and the Group's presentation currency, 
and rounded to the nearest thousand, except where 
otherwise stated.

 
76 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

A number of new accounting standards are effective 
for annual periods beginning after 1 January 2023 
and earlier application is permitted. However, the 
Group has not early adopted the following new or 
amended accounting standards in preparing these 
consolidated financial statements.

Classification of Liabilities as Current or 
Non-current and Non-current Liabilities with 
Covenants (Amendments to NZ IAS 1)

The Group is in the process of assessing the potential 
impact of the amendments on the classification of 
these liabilities and the related disclosures which 
is not expected to have a significant impact on the 
Group's consolidated financial statements.

Disclosure of Fees for Audit Firms Services 
(Amendments to FRS- 44)

This amendment will likely give rise to additional 
disclosure. 

1.5  WORKING CAPITAL

As at 31 December 2023 the Group had negative 
working capital of $6.0 million compared to  
$5.4 million as at 31 December 2022. The Group's 
level of negative working capital is primarily due to 
deferred revenue of $17.6 million (31 December 2022: 
$16.3 million). The Directors are satisfied that there 
will be adequate cash flows generated from operating 
and financing activities to meet the obligations of the 
Group for at least the next 12 months. 

1.3 

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING  
ESTIMATES AND JUDGEMENTS

The preparation of the consolidated financial 
statements requires the use of certain significant 
judgements, accounting estimates and assumptions, 
including judgements, estimates and assumptions 
concerning the future. The estimates and 
assumptions are based on historical experiences 
and other factors that are considered to be relevant. 
The resulting accounting estimates will by definition, 
seldom equal the related actual results and are 
reviewed on an ongoing basis. A list of those areas of 
significant estimation or judgement and a reference 
to the notes containing further information is 
provided below: 

Areas of significant accounting 
estimates or judgements

Intangible assets with indefinite useful 
lives

Assumptions used in testing for 
impairment of indefinite life intangible 
assets

Lease terms and discount rates used 
in determining right-of-use assets and 
associated lease liabilities (see note 
4.5.2 for lease liabilities)

Note

3.1

3.1.1

3.3

1.4  NEW AND AMENDED STANDARDS  

AND INTERPRETATIONS

The Group has applied the following standards and 
amendments for the first time for its annual reporting 
period commencing 1 January 2023:

• 

• 

• 

Definition of Accounting Estimates – amendments 
to IAS 8.

Deferred Tax related to Assets and Liabilities 
arising from a Single Transaction – amendments 
to IAS 12.

Disclosure of Accounting Policies – Amendments 
to IAS 1 and IFRS Practice Statement 2.

The amendments listed above did not have any 
impact on the amounts recognised in prior years  
and are not expected to significantly affect the 
current or future years.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 77

2.0  GROUP PERFORMANCE

2.1 

SEGMENT REPORTING 

Audio 
$’000

Publishing 
$’000

OneRoof 
$’000

Other 
$’000

Total 
$’000

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Advertising

112,197

110,472

20,370

Circulation and subscription

External printing and distribution

Other

Segment revenue from integrated 
media and entertainment activities

Revenue from shared services centre

Events

-

-

991

80,564

6,819

6,252

-

-

413

113,188

204,107

20,783

103

-

188

-

22

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

243,039

80,564

6,819

7,656

338,078

315

2,359

2,359

Total revenue from external customers

113,291

204,295

20,805

2,361

340,752

Other income A

Finance income

Total finance and other income

317

-

317 

5,341

-

5,341 

-

-

- 

786

445

6,444

445

1,231 

6,889

Total revenue and other income 

113,608

209,636

20,805

3,592

347,641

Audio 
$’000

Publishing 
$’000

OneRoof 
$’000

Other 
$’000

Total 
$’000

Timing of revenue recognition

Recognised at a point in time

103,981

128,114

Recognised over time

9,310

76,181

9,617

11,188

-

241,712

2,361

99,040

Total revenue from external customers

113,291

204,295

20,805

2,361

340,752

Audio 
$’000

Publishing 
$’000

OneRoof 
$’000

Other 
$’000

Total 
$’000

Operating adjusted EBITDA B

23,256

38,635

(1,287)

(4,440)

56,164

Total assets

114,805

158,667

8,718

8,209

290,399

Additions of property, plant and 
equipment and intangible assets

3,114

6,618

1,287

18

11,037

Total liabilities

57,997

90,515

6,946

2,494

157,952

 
78 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Audio 
$’000

Publishing 
$’000

OneRoof 
$’000

Other 
$’000

Total 
$’000

For the year ended 31 December 2022

Advertising

112,424 

123,274 

22,821 

Circulation and subscription

External printing and distribution

Other

Segment revenue from integrated 
media and entertainment activities

Revenue from shared services centre

Events

- 

- 

897 

83,655 

4,462 

5,104 

- 

- 

- 

113,321 

216,495 

22,821 

165 

- 

311 

- 

42 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

4 

258,519 

83,655 

4,462 

6,001 

352,637 

522 

2,274 

2,274 

Total revenue from external customers

113,486 

216,806 

22,863 

2,278 

355,433 

Other income A

Finance income

430 

8,598 

- 

- 

Total finance and other income

430 

8,598 

- 

- 

- 

1,024 

10,052 

401 

401 

1,425 

10,453 

Total revenue and other income 

113,916 

225,404 

22,863 

3,703 

365,886 

Audio 
$’000

Publishing 
$’000

OneRoof 
$’000

Other 
$’000

Total 
$’000

Timing of revenue recognition

Recognised at a point in time

105,683

138,403

12,284

-

256,370

Recognised over time

7,803

78,403

10,579

2,278

99,063

Total revenue from external customers

113,486

216,806

22,863

2,278

355,433

Audio 
$’000

Publishing 
$’000

OneRoof 
$’000

Other 
$’000

Total 
$’000

Operating adjusted EBITDA B

22,756

47,418

(1,411)

(4,060)

64,703

Total assets

120,918

167,715

10,543

7,061

306,237

Additions of property, plant and 
equipment and intangible assets

4,231

9,440

1,296

28

14,995

Total liabilities

60,948

96,483

7,039

3,989

168,459

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 79

A  Other income includes Government grants of $3,651,371 (2022: $4,079,668) received from the Ministry 

of Culture and New Zealand On Air for the production of content, journalism training and creating greater 
cultural awareness. There are no unfulfilled conditions or contingencies attaching to these grants. 
The Group did not benefit directly from any other forms of Government assistance. Other income also 
includes rental income of $141,353 (2022: $178,506) relating to the to operating sub-leases of right-of-use 
assets. See note 3.4.3 for the income received from the finance sub-leases on right-of-use assets.

B  Operating adjusted Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (Adjusted EBITDA) 

from continuing operations which excludes exceptional items, is a non-GAAP measure that represents 
the Group’s total segment result which is regularly monitored by the Chief Operating Decision 
Maker. Exceptional items are those gains, losses, income and expense items that are not directly 
related to the primary business activities of the Group which are determined in accordance with the 
NZME Exceptional Items Recognition Framework adopted by the Board. Exceptional items include 
redundancies, impairment, one-off projects and the disposal of properties or businesses. These items 
are excluded from the segment result that is regularly reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker.

Accounting policies

The Group applies the following accounting 
policies in relation to revenue:

Advertising

The Group operates an integrated media and 
entertainment business and contracts with 
customers to provide advertising on multiple 
platforms across the divisions consisting of a 
series of distinct services that are substantially 
the same. Advertising is often bundled to include 
publishing, audio and real estate components. 
In most cases each component of the bundle is 
treated as a distinct performance obligation and 
the transaction price is allocated on a relative 
stand-alone selling price basis. The Group also 
provides advertising for non-cash consideration, 
typically in exchange for advertising from another 
media company. The Group concludes these 
exchanges have commercial substance and 
recognises revenue on a gross basis measured  
at the fair value of the consideration received.  
For advertising in print publications or terrestrial 
radio stations the performance obligation is 
satisfied at a point in time when the advertisement 
is printed or aired. For advertising placed on 
digital platforms the performance obligation is 
satisfied over the period of the campaign.

Subscriptions

The Group enters into contracts with customers to 
deliver a specified publication on specified days. The 
performance obligation is satisfied, and revenue is 
recognised, when the publication is delivered. For 
contracts entered into with customers for the supply 
of online premium content the service obligation is 
satisfied, and revenue recognised over the period of 
the subscription.

Circulation

The Group enters into contracts with customers 
to deliver specified publications on specified days 
which the customer will on-sell to the public. 
The performance obligation is satisfied when the 
publication is delivered. Where customers have a 
right to return unsold publications this is classed 
as variable consideration and the Group includes 
in the transaction price an estimate of the unsold 
publications. This estimate is calculated using 
the most likely amount method based on weekly 
reporting from customers to the extent that it is 
highly probable that a significant reversal in the 
amount of cumulative revenue recognised will not 
occur when the uncertainty associated with the 
variable consideration is subsequently resolved.

External printing and distribution

The Group enters into contracts with customers to 
print and or distribute their publications on their 
behalf. The printing and delivery of publications 
are two distinct performance obligations and 
revenue is recognised at a point in time when the 
publications are printed or delivered.

Shared services centre

The Group provides back-office support services 
to customers. These services consist of a number 
of functions that are largely consistent on a month-
to-month basis. Revenue is therefore recognised in 
equal increments over the billing period.

80 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Deferred revenue

Incremental cost of obtaining a contract

The Group applies the practical expedient in 
NZ IFRS 15 to recognise the incremental cost 
of obtaining a contract (such as commission) 
when incurred if the amortisation period is one 
year or less. If material, the Group will recognise 
an asset for any incremental cost of obtaining a 
contract with a customer if the Group expects to 
recover those costs and the amortisation period is 
expected to be more than one year. Those costs 
will be amortised on a systematic basis that is 
consistent with the transfer of the good or service 
to which the asset relates. 

Costs to fulfil a contract

There are no upfront costs incurred by the Group 
in respect of digital advertising placed on third 
party platforms.

All revenue contracts are for periods of one  
year or less. As permitted under NZ IFRS 15,  
the transaction price allocated to these  
unsatisfied contracts is not disclosed.

When a customer pays for goods or services 
in advance, the Group recognises a deferred 
revenue liability which is reduced, and revenue 
recognised, as the Group satisfies each distinct 
performance obligation. The Group also 
recognises a deferred revenue liability when a 
customer has been invoiced for future goods or 
services but the invoice is unpaid at the balance 
sheet date.

Government grants 

Cash received and receivable from Government 
grants is recognised where there is reasonable 
assurance that the grant will be received and the 
group will comply with all attached conditions. 
Government grants relating to costs are deferred 
and recognised in "Other income" over the period 
necessary to match them with the costs that they 
are intended to compensate.

Significant financing component

The Group does not expect, at contract inception, 
that the period between transferring the promised 
goods or services from contracts with customers 
and when the customer pays for those goods and 
services to be more than one year. The Group 
applies the practical expedient in NZ IFRS 15 to not 
adjust the promised amount of consideration it 
expects to receive for those goods or services for 
the effects of a significant financing component.

2.1.1  Revenue recognition

Revenue classified as generated overtime is:

Revenue classified as generated at a point in time 
comprises:

• 

Revenue generated from advertising  
placed in print publications and broadcast  
on radio stations.

• 

• 

• 

•  Circulation and subscription revenue derived 

from the sale of print publications.

Subscriptions to digital publications.

Revenue generated from the supply of online 
advertising and other online services.

Revenue generated by the supply of services 
including organising and running events, 
back-office services and the supply of content, 
created by the Group, to third parties. 

• 

External printing and distribution  
for third parties.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 81

2.1.2  Determination of operating segments

The operating segments for the Group are:

The Group operates an integrated media and 
entertainment business that incorporates the sale of 
advertising, goods and services generated from the 
audiences attached to the Group's media platforms 
and comprises of three operating segments.

• 

• 

All significant operating decisions are based upon 
analysis of the three operating segments. The 
Executive Team and the Board of Directors have been 
identified as the Chief Operating Decision Maker. 
The Group’s major products and services are split 
into the three segments with revenue, income, direct 
and allocated costs reported to the Chief Operating 
Decision Maker on this basis. Although the Group 
operates in many different markets within New 
Zealand, for management reporting purposes the 
Group operates in one principal geographical area 
being New Zealand as a whole.

Audio - terrestrial radio stations, digital 
iHeartRadio, podcasts and Radio brand 
websites.

Publishing - print publications (excluding 
dedicated real estate publications) and digital 
news websites including nzherald.co.nz.  
and BusinessDesk.

•  OneRoof - comprises oneroof.co.nz and 
dedicated real estate print publications. 

Operating expenses comprise those costs that are 
directly attributable to each segment and allocated 
costs that are allocated based on different criteria 
depending on the expense type. 

Revenue and expenses that are not included in one 
of the three operting segments are grouped together 
in Other. This grouping includes corporate costs.

2.1.3  Reconciliation of operating adjusted EBITDA to net profit before income tax expense 

Operating adjusted EBITDA

Finance income

Reversal of impairment

Depreciation and amortisation

Finance costs

Share of joint ventures' and associates' net loss after tax

Exceptional items

Insurance income

Income from lease adjustments

Cost items

Net profit before income tax expense

Note

2.1

2.1

2.2.2

2.2.3

6.2.2

2023
$’000

2022 
$’000

56,164 

64,703 

445 

- 

401 

549 

(28,623)

(27,391)

(7,656)

(5,665)

(588)

(156)

644 

- 

2.2.1

(2,608)

17,778 

206 

87 

(1,495)

31,239 

 
 
82 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

2.2  EXPENSES

2.2.1  Exceptional cost items as included in the following expenses

People costs

Redundancies and associated costs

BusinessDesk earn-out-provision

Historical pay claims

Property

Property lease adjustments and make good costs

Sub-lease costs

Other expenses

NZME Advisory Limited - Commerce commission

Professional fees for various one-off projects

Total exceptional cost expenses

2.2.2  Depreciation and amortisation

Depreciation on owned assets

Depreciation on right-of-use assets

Amortisation on intangible assets

Total depreciation and amortisation

2.2.3  Finance costs

Interest and finance charges on bank facilities

Interest on interest rate swaps

Interest expense on leases 

Loan modification adjustment

Fair value adjustment on interest rate swaps

Borrowing cost amortisation

Total finance costs

2.2.4  Fees paid to auditors

Fees paid to the Group's auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, consist of:

Audit and review of financial statements

Other services A

Total fees paid to auditors

Note

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

3.8

2,691

(413)

-

69

20

(11)

252

565

413

(238)

168

262

277

48

2,608

1,495

3.2

3.3

3.1

7,577

11,995 

9,051 

9,064

11,225

7,102

28,623 

27,391 

2,796 

(199)

4,703 

258 

- 

98 

1,374

(212)

4,890

(564)

(59)

236

7,656

5,665

505

1 

506 

542 

18

560

A  Agreed upon procedures performed for monthly market revenue benchmarking (January 2022  

to January 2023) and the annual Broadcasting Standards Authority return (2022). 

In addition, non-audit assurance services on greenhouse gas emissions for the 2022 and 2023 financial years 
were performed in 2024 for $60,000.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 83

2.3 

EARNINGS PER SHARE ("EPS")

2023
$’000

2022 
$’000

Reconciliation of earnings used in calculating basic / diluted EPS

Profit attributable to owners of the parent entity used in calculating EPS

12,789

23,383

2023
Number

2022
Number

Weighted average number of shares

Weighted average number of shares in the denominator in calculating basic 
EPS 

183,913,614 

 193,375,810 

Adjusted for calculation of diluted EPS

7,217,143 

 6,715,262 

Weighted average number of shares in the denominator in calculating 
diluted EPS

191,130,757 

200,091,072 

Basic / diluted EPS

Basic EPS

Diluted EPS

2023
Cents

2022
Cents

6.95

6.69

 12.09 

11.69 

Accounting policies

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

Basic earnings per share is determined by 
dividing:

• 

• 

the profit or loss attributable to owners  
of the Company; by

the weighted average number of ordinary 
shares outstanding during the financial year, 
adjusted for bonus elements in ordinary 
shares issued during the financial year.

Diluted earnings per share adjusts the figures 
used in the determination of basic earnings per 
share by taking into account:

• 

• 

the after-tax effect of dividends, interest 
and other changes in income or expense 
associated with dilutive potential ordinary 
shares; and

the weighted average number of additional 
ordinary shares that would have been 
outstanding assuming the conversion of all 
dilutive potential ordinary shares.

84 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

3.0  OPERATING ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
3.1 

INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Significant judgement: The Directors have determined that mastheads and brands have indefinite lives 
and are therefore not amortised. Refer to the accounting policies below for further information. 

Goodwill 
$’000

Software 
$’000

Mastheads 
and brands 
$’000

Radio 
licences 
$’000

Capital 
work in 
progressA 
$’000

Total
$’000

As at 1 January 2022

Cost

Accumulated amortisation and 
impairment

Net book value

For the year ended 31 December 2022

Opening net book amount

-

-

-

-

53,909

205,995

79,059

2,665

341,628

(46,273)

(104,186)

(50,309)

-

(200,768)

7,636

101,809

28,750

2,665

140,860

7,636

101,809

28,750

2,665

140,860

Additions

Amortisation

Transfers from capital work in progress

2,693

121

603

889

5,715

-

-

(3,912)

6,088

-

-

(3,190)

-

-

(6,088)

10,021

(7,102)

-

Net book value

2,693

9,933

102,412

26,449

2,292

143,779

As at 31 December 2022

Cost

2,693

53,844

202,225

79,948

2,292

341,002

Accumulated amortisation  
and impairment

-

(43,911)

(99,813)

(53,499)

-

(197,223)

Net book value

2,693

9,933

102,412

26,449

2,292

143,779

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Opening net book amount

2,693

9,933

102,412

26,449

Additions

Amortisation

Other transfers and adjustments

Transfers from capital work in progress

-

-

-

-

-

(5,819)

(6)

8,356

-

-

-

-

305

(3,232)

-

-

2,292

7,418

-

-

(8,356)

143,779

7,723

(9,051)

(6)

-

Net book value

2,693

12,464

102,412

23,522

1,354

142,445

As at 31 December 2023

Cost

2,693

62,194

202,225

80,253

1,354

348,719

Accumulated amortisation and 
impairment

-

(49,730)

(99,813)

(56,731)

-

(206,274)

Net book value

2,693

12,464

102,412

23,522

1,354

142,445

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 85

A  Capital work in progress is transferred to the relevant asset category once the project is completed. 
Capital work in progress is not amortised prior to being transferred to the relevant asset category. 
Intangible assets not yet available for use, that are included in capital work in progress, are subject 
to annual impairment tests. Capital work in progress at 31 December 2023 and 31 December 2022 
comprised of expenditure on digital development projects.

Accounting policies

Goodwill

Goodwill arises on the acquisition of businesses 
and represents the excess of the consideration 
paid above the fair value of the net identifiable 
assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities acquired. 

(b) as a prepayment and then expensed over 
the term of the cloud computing arrangement 
for the costs of the software provider or its 
subcontractor.

Software 

Internal and external costs directly incurred in the 
purchase or development of software controlled 
by the Group are recognised as intangible assets, 
including subsequent improvements, when 
it is probable that they will generate a future 
economic benefit. Costs capitalised include 
materials, services, payroll and payroll related 
costs of employees involved in development. 
Amortisation of software assets is calculated on a 
straight-line basis over the useful life of the asset 
(typically 2 to 10 years).  
Cloud computing arrangements provide the 
Group with the right to access a supplier's cloud 
based software for a specified contract period. 
Where the Group controls an identifiable asset 
in relation to the integration and customisation 
of cloud computing arrangements these costs 
will be capitalised and amortised over the life of 
the arrangement. Control exists where the Group 
determines that the asset could be transferred 
to an alternative supplier without incurring 
substantial additional costs. If the Group does 
not control the cloud based software, the related 
development costs (external and internal) are 
recognised as either:

(a) an expense when they are incurred, for 
internal costs, and the costs of an integrator 
not related to the software provider, or 

Mastheads and brands

Mastheads, being the titles, logo's and similar 
items of the integrated media assets of the 
Group, and brands are initially recognised at cost. 
The Directors believe the mastheads and brands 
have indefinite lives as there is no foreseeable 
limit over which they are expected to generate 
net cash inflows for the Group. Accordingly, 
mastheads and brands are not amortised but are 
tested for impairment each year (refer to note 
3.1.1 below).

Radio licences

Commercial radio licences are accounted for as 
identifiable assets and are initially recognised 
at cost. The current New Zealand radio licences 
expire on 31 March 2031 and are being amortised 
on a straight line basis to that date.

Impairment of goodwill, mastheads  
and brands

Assets that have an indefinite useful life are 
reviewed annually for impairment or whenever 
events or changes in circumstances indicate 
that the carrying amount of the asset may not be 
recoverable. An impairment loss is recognised for 
the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount 
exceeds its recoverable amount.

86 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

3.1.1  Year-end impairment review by cash generating unit ("CGU")

This note includes details of certain key estimates 
and assumptions made during the impairment 
testing process. The Directors should assess, at 
each reporting date, whether there is any indication 
that an impairment loss for an asset, other than 
goodwill, either no longer exists or has decreased. 

As disclosed in note 2.1 the Directors have 
determined that the Group has three operating 

segments – being "Audio", "Publishing" and 
"OneRoof". The Directors have also determined 
that there are three CGU for impairment testing 
because these are the lowest level for which there 
are separately identifiable cash inflows which are 
largely independent of the cash inflows from other 
assets or groups of assets. The table below contains 
the allocation of the Group's indefinite life intangible 
assets across the CGUs. 

Audio 
$’000

Publishing 
$’000

OneRoof 
$’000

Other 
$’000

Total 
$’000

As at 31 December 2023 and 31 December 2022

Goodwill

Mastheads

Brands

- 

- 

2,693 

72,640 

29,169 

603 

Non-amortising intangible assets

29,169 

75,936 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

2,693 

72,640 

29,772 

105,105 

As an integrated media and entertainment business, 
the Directors consider the mastheads and brands 
of each CGU to be complimentary which as a group 
represent the highest and best use of the assets.

Whilst the OneRoof CGU does not include any non-
amortising intangible assets, impairment testing 
has been carried out given it does not currently 
generate an operating profit.

The recoverable amount of a CGU is determined 
based on the higher of fair value less costs to 
sell and value-in-use ("VIU") calculations using 
management forecasts. The recoverable amount 
of each CGU is compared against the carrying 
value of that CGU to determine whether there has 
been impairment. Any impairment is recognised 
immediately as an expense and in relation to 
goodwill, is not subsequently reversed.

An impairment review was conducted at  
31 December 2023 using VIU calculations to 
determine the recoverable amount of the CGUs. 
Based on the key estimates and assumptions 
outlined below no impairment of indefinite life 
intangible assets has been recognised in the 
income statement (2022: $nil) for any of the CGUs. 

The cash flow projections used in VIU calculations 
are based off the Group's Board-approved medium 
term plans over a five-year period, after applying 
a more conservative set of assumptions that are 
considered the most appropriate for impairment 
testing. Cash flows beyond the five-year period are 
extrapolated by calculating a terminal value. This 
assessment is required to be made based on events 
and knowledge as at 31 December 2023.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 87

Key estimates and assumptions used for calculating the VIU of each CGU

Discount rates and terminal growth rates assessed as appropriate for each CGU are as follows:

2023 
Audio

2023 
Publishing

2023 
OneRoof

2022 
Audio

2022 
Publishing

2022 
OneRoof

Forecast period

2024-2028 2024-2028 2024-2028 2023-2027 2023-2027 2023-2027

Discount rate (post tax)

10.0%

10.0%

10.0%

9.6%

9.6%

9.6%

Terminal value growth / 
(decline)

0%

(1.0%)

0%

0%

(1.0%)

0%

The discount rate represents the current market 
assessment of the risks specific to each CGU, 
taking into account the time value of money and 
individual risks of the underlying assets that have 
not been incorporated in the cash flow estimates.

The terminal value within VIU calculations has  
used the terminal growth rate assumptions 
provided in the above table.

The forecasts are prepared by management  
based on current expectations for each CGU,  
with consideration given to internal information 

and relevant external industry data and analysis.  
This requires assumptions and judgements about 
the future, such as discount rates, long term 
growth rates, and forecasted revenues to which 
the model is sensitive and which are inherently 
uncertain. Specifically, the Publishing CGU is 
expected to be impacted by the continued decline 
of the print advertising market, and this uncertainty 
has been reflected in forecast assumptions.

Future capex spend is estimated at historical 
replacement levels.

Key forecast revenue assumptions used are as follows:

Audio

Publishing

OneRoof

Print 
Advertising

Digital 
Advertising

Subscriptions

2024 - 2028 CAGR^

3.6%

(7.6%)

4.8%

(1.0%)

16.1%

^CAGR = compound annual growth rate.

The forecasts used in impairment testing have been 
prepared to comply with the requirements of IAS 36 
for that specific purpose. They should not be read 
as a forecast of, or guidance to, the future financial 
performance and earnings of the Group. Actual 
results may differ materially from those forecast  
or implied.

Whilst management considers that its forecast 
assumptions are reasonable, short term volatility 
may be experienced due to the impact of external 
environmental and economic conditions. It is 
reasonably possible, on the basis of existing 
knowledge, that actual outcomes are different from 
the forecast assumptions used and which could 
require a material adjustment to the carrying amount 
of the asset or liability affected. Accordingly, the 
Directors have reviewed the potential changes to the 
recoverable amounts that could arise from changes 
in key assumptions and concluded that, at this time, 
there are no reasonably possible adverse changes in 
key assumptions that would result in an impairment 
of the Audio and OneRoof CGU's.

The recoverable amount of the Publishing CGU was 
calculated to be $123.1 million, resulting in headroom 
of $6.4 million. As shown in the table above, this 
included an assumption of 7.6% CAGR decline in 
Print advertising revenue over the five-year forecast 
period. The impact of any reasonably possible 
changes that resulted in an additional 1.0% CAGR 
decline in Print advertising revenue would be such 
that headroom would reduce by approximately  
$6.5 million. This includes an adjustment for certain 
CGU expenses in line with revenue.

In addition, an increase in the discount rate used  
of 0.5% would result in a decrease of $3.5 million 
while a decrease of 0.5% would result in an increase 
of $4.0 million of the recoverable amount of the 
Publishing CGU.

It is reasonably possible that the CAGR decline in 
Print advertising revenue could exceed 1.0% and it  
is reasonably possible that discount rates could move 
adversely in excess of 0.5%. These declines may 
result in an impairment of the Publishing CGU on  
a VIU approach. These impacts could also occur  
in combination with each other.

 
88 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

The Directors determined that the increase in the 
headroom, since the impairment recognised as at 
31 December 2019, is not directly attributable to 
the brands and as a result a reversal of previously 
recognised impairment of indefinite life intangible 
assets has not been recognised. 

The Group compares the carrying amount of net 
assets with the market capitalisation value at each 
balance date. The share price at 31 December 2023 
was $1.08 equating to a market capitalisation of 
$198.6 million. This market value excludes any control 
premium and may not reflect the value of 100% of 
NZME’s net assets. The carrying amount of NZME’s 
net assets at 31 December 2023 was  
$132.4 million ($0.72 per share).

Accounting policy

Goodwill and intangible assets that have 
an indefinite useful life are not subject to 
amortisation and are tested annually for 
impairment and at the end of each reporting 
period if there is an indication that they may be 
impaired. An impairment charge is recognised 
for the amount by which the asset’s carrying 
amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The 
recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s 
fair value less costs to sell and value-in-use. For 
the purposes of assessing impairment, assets 

are grouped at the lowest levels for which there 
are separately identifiable cash inflows which 
are largely independent of the cash inflows 
from other assets or groups of assets (CGUs). 
Currently, the Group has three CGUs, being 
Audio, Publishing and OneRoof. Non-financial 
intangible assets, other than goodwill, that 
suffer impairment are reviewed for possible 
reversal of the impairment at each balance 
sheet date.

 
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 89

3.2  PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Freehold 
landA
$’000

BuildingsA 
$’000

Leasehold 
improvements 
$’000

Plant and 
equipment 
$’000

Capital 
work in 
progressB 
$’000

Total

$’000

As at 1 January 2022

Cost or fair value

Accumulated depreciation 
and impairment

Net book value

Year ended 31 December 2022

265

-

265

67

(14)

53

14,854

264,070

1,341

280,597

(10,722)

(241,544)

-

(252,280)

4,132

22,526

1,341

28,317

Opening net book amount

265

53

4,132

22,526

Additions

Disposals

Depreciation

Reversal of impairment

Transfers from capital work 
in progress

Net book value

As at 31 December 2022

Cost or fair value

Accumulated depreciation 
and impairment

Net book value

-

-

-

-

-

265

265

-

265

Year ended 31 December 2023

Opening net book amount

265

Additions

Disposals

Depreciation

Other adjustments

Transfers from capital work 
in progress

Net book value

As at 31 December 2023

Cost or fair value

Accumulated depreciation 
and impairment

Net book value

-

-

-

-

-

265

265

-

265

-

-

3

-

-

56

67

(11)

56

56

-

-

(2)

-

-

54

67

(13)

54

-

(1)

32

(20)

(1,056)

(8,011)

80

312

34

1,341

4,942

-

-

-

28,317

4,974

(21)

(9,064)

392

-

4,746

(4,780)

3,421

19,353

1,503

24,598

14,425

254,804

1,503

271,064

(11,004)

(235,451)

-

(246,466)

3,421

19,353

1,503

24,598

3,421

19,353

-

-

11

(30)

(954)

(6,621)

-

6

1,503

3,303

-

-

-

359

3,595

(3,954)

24,598

3,314

(30)

(7,577)

6

-

2,826

16,314

852

20,311

14,784

247,173

852

263,141

(11,958)

(230,859)

-

(242,830)

2,826

16,314

852

20,311

A  Freehold land and buildings are held at fair 

value based on Director's valuations. If land and 
buildings were stated on the historical cost basis, 
the net book value of land would have been 
$214,000 (2022: $214,000) and the net book 
value of buildings would have been $20,181  
(2022: $21,784). An independent valuation was 
performed in February 2024 which supports the 
Director's valuation at balance sheet date.

B  Capital work in progress is transferred to the 
relevant asset category once the project is 
completed. Capital work in progress is not 
depreciated prior to being transferred to the 
relevant asset category. Capital work in progress 
at 31 December 2023 and 31 December 2022 is 
primarily comprised of expenditure on technology 
projects.

90 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Accounting policies

Owned land and buildings are held at fair value 
less subsequent accumulated depreciation 
for buildings. Leasehold improvements and 
plant and equipment are stated at cost less 
accumulated depreciation and impairment 
losses. Cost includes the purchase price and all 
directly attributable costs of bringing the asset to 
its location and condition necessary to operate 
as intended.

Land is not depreciated. Depreciation on 
other assets is calculated using the straight 
line method to allocate their cost or revalued 
amounts, net of their residual values, over their 
estimated useful lives, as follows:

•  Buildings 

•  10 to 50 years

•  Leasehold improvements 

•  2.5 to 50 years

•  Plant & equipment 

•  1.5 to 29 years

The gain or loss on the disposal or retirement 
of an asset is the difference between the sale 
proceeds and the carrying amount of the 
asset and is included in the income statement.

Fair value of land and owned buildings

At the end of each reporting period, the 
Directors update their assessment of the fair 
value of each property. Any accumulated 
depreciation at the date of revaluation is 
eliminated against the gross carrying amount 

of the asset and the net amount is restated to 
the revalued amount of the asset. Increases in 
the carrying amounts arising on revaluation of 
land and buildings are credited to revaluation 
reserves in equity. To the extent that the 
increase reverses a decrease previously 
recognised in the income statement, the 
increase is first recognised in the income 
statement. Decreases that reverse previous 
increases of the same asset are first charged 
against the revaluation reserves directly in 
equity to the extent of the remaining reserve 
attributable to the asset. All other decreases 
are charged to the income statement.

Impairment of assets

An asset’s carrying amount is written down 
immediately to its recoverable amount if the 
asset’s carrying amount is greater than its 
estimated recoverable amount. Assets that are 
subject to depreciation are tested for impairment 
whenever changes in circumstances indicate 
that the asset’s carrying amount may exceed 
its recoverable amount. An impairment charge 
is recognised for the amount by which the 
asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable 
amount. Assets that suffer an impairment are 
reviewed for possible reversal of the impairment 
at each balance sheet date.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 91

3.3  RIGHT-OF-USE ASSETS

Significant judgments: Where a discount rate is not explicit in a lease the Group determines an 
applicable discount rate to use based on publicly available rates for Government Bonds, Bloomberg 
corporate bond spreads and yields and New Zealand swap rates and then applies an adjustment to 
these rates to apply a company specific credit risk. In determining the lease term the Group includes 
any periods covered by options to extend where the Group is reasonably certain to exercise that option.

As at 1 January 2022

Net book value

Year ended 31 December 2022

Additions

Depreciation

Reversal of impairment previously 
recognised

Transfer from lease receivables

Buildings
$’000

Transmission
$’000

Vehicles
$’000

Other
$’000

Total
$’000

43,486

23,040

987

-

67,513

2,865

-

(6,988)

(3,670)

157

775

-

-

513

(562)

-

-

(4)

50

(5)

-

-

3,428

(11,225)

157

775

(1)

3,009

Changes in scope or lease terms

(885)

3,899

As at 31 December 2022

Net book value

39,410

23,269

934

44

63,657

Year ended 31 December 2023

Additions

Depreciation

Transfer from lease receivables

Changes in scope or lease terms

536

-

(7,596)

(3,830)

(4)

3,372

-

2,085

564

(559)

-

18

-

1,100

(10)

(11,995)

-

-

(4)

5,475

Net book value

35,718

21,524

957

34

58,233

 
92 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Accounting policy

The Group leases various offices, transmission 
towers, vehicles and other equipment which are 
all classified as operating leases. 

Leases are recognised as a right-of-use asset 
and a corresponding lease liability. Each lease 
payment is allocated between the lease principal 
and finance costs. Finance costs are charged 
to profit or loss over the lease period and the 
right-of-use asset is depreciated over the shorter 
of the asset's useful life and the lease term on a 
straight-line basis.

Assets and liabilities arising from a lease are 
initially measured on a present value basis. Lease 
liabilities include the net present value of the 
following lease payments:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

fixed payments (including in-substance 
fixed payments), less any lease incentives 
receivable;

variable lease payments that are based  
on an index or a rate;

amounts expected to be payable by the 
lessee under residual value guarantees;

the exercise price of a purchase option  
if the lessee is reasonably certain to exercise 
that option; and

payments of penalties for terminating the 
lease, if the lease term reflects the lessee 
exercising that option.

3.4  TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES

Trade receivables

Provision for impairment

Amounts due from related companies

Finance lease receivables

Other receivables and prepayments

Total current trade and other receivables

Movements in the provision for impairment are as follows:

Balance at beginning of the year

Provision for impairment expense

Receivables written off

Provision for impairment

Other receivables and prepayments

Finance lease receivables

Total non-current trade and other receivables

Note

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

37,295

42,534

(631)

36,664

330

545 

7,518

45,057

516

228

(113)

631

561

3,892 

4,453

(516)

42,018

65

528

6,140

48,751

634

17

(135)

516

1,207

4,435

5,642

7.2

3.4.3

3.4.3

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 93

3.4.1 

 Classification

Trade receivables are amounts due from customers 
for goods sold or services performed in the ordinary 
course of business as well as receivables in relation 
to goods or services to be sold or performed in the 
future. Receivables and other financial assets are 
classified and subsequently measured at amortised 
cost on the basis of both the Group's business model 
for managing the financial assets and the contractual 
cash flow characteristics of the financial asset. If 

collection of the amounts is expected in one year or 
less they are classified as current assets. If collection 
is expected to be in greater than one year they are 
classified as non-current.

3.4.2 

 Impairment and risk exposure

The maximum exposure to credit risk at the balance 
sheet date is the higher of the carrying value and 
fair value of each receivable. The Group does not 
hold any collateral as security. Refer to note 4.7.3 for 
credit risk and note 4.8 for fair value information. 

Accounting policy

Trade receivables are recognised initially at fair 
value and subsequently measured at amortised 
cost using the effective interest method, less 
provision for impairment.

Receivables are monitored on an individual 
basis and the Group considers the probability of 
default upon initial recognition of the receivable 
and throughout the period and provides for 
receivables expected to be impaired.  

The amount of loss is recognised in the income 
statement within other expenses. When a trade 
receivable is uncollectible, it is written off against 
the provision account for trade receivables. 
Subsequent recoveries of amounts previously 
written off are credited to the income statement 
against the impairment losses on receivables.

3.4.3 

 Finance lease receivables

Finance lease receivables relate to the sub-leases of parts of the Graham Street and Whangarei right-of-use 
assets sub-let during the financial year.

As at 1 January

Transfer from / (to) right-of-use assets

Interest on lease receivables

2023
$’000

4,963

4

236 

2022
$’000

6,134 

(775)

285

Total lease receivables before cash payments

5,203

5,644

Rent concession

Interest received

Principal received

Net investment in lease receivables at 31 December A

Current assets

Non-current assets

Net investment in lease receivables at 31 December 

-

(236)

(530)

4,437

545 

3,892

4,437

(29)

(285)

(367)

4,963

528 

4,435

4,963

A  Make good provisions are included in material sub-leases to ensure the Group's exposure to risk is minimised.

94 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

The table below details the Group’s contractual undiscounted cash flows for the finance lease receivable 
assets to maturity.

Less than 1 year

1 to 5 years

Greater than 5 years

Total lease payments receivable

Unearned finance income

Net investment in lease receivables at 31 December 

Accounting policy

When the Group acts as a lessor in sub-leasing 
its right-of-use assets, it determines, at lease 
commencement date, whether each lease 
is a finance lease or an operating lease by 
assessing whether the lease transfers to the 
lessee substantially all the risks and rewards 
of ownership incidental to ownership of the 
underlying asset. If this is the case then the lease 
is a finance lease; if not then it is an operating 
lease. As part of this assessment the Group 
considers certain indicators such as whether the 
lease is for the major part of the economic life of 
the asset.

For the purposes of classifying the sub-lease 
reference is to the right-of-use asset arising 
from the head lease, not with reference to the 
underlying asset.

Assets arising from a sub-lease are initially 
measured on a present value basis and include 

3.5 

INVENTORIES

Inventories is predominantly the stock of newsprint 
held at the Ellerslie print plant and is valued at cost. 
The longevity of the commodity, and the short 
period of time that stock is on hand, reduces the 
Group's risk of holding obsolete stock.

Accounting policy

2023
$’000

755

2,269

2,230

5,254

(817)

4,437

2022
$’000

764

2,243

3,009

6,016

(1,053)

4,963

the following:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

initial direct costs incurred in acquiring the 
sub-lease;

fixed payments (including in-substance 
fixed payments), less any lease incentives 
payable;

variable lease payments that are based on 
an index or a rate;

amounts expected to be receivable under 
residual value guarantees;

the exercise price of a purchase option if 
the lessee is reasonably certain to exercise 
that option; and

payments of penalties for terminating the 
lease, if the lease term reflects the lessee 
exercising that option.

During the year ended 31 December 2023 
inventories totalling $13,186,488 were expensed 
through production and distribution expenses 
(2022: $11,167,379).

Inventories are measured at cost and are expensed using the first in first out ("FIFO") method, as used. 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 95

3.6 

TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES

Current payables

Employee entitlements

Deferred revenue

Trade payables and accruals 

Total current trade and other payables

Note

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

5,930

17,639

25,271

48,840

6,009

16,335

30,133

52,477

All deferred revenue at 31 December 2022 was recognised in revenue during 2023.

Accounting policies

Trade and other payables

Short-term incentive plans

Trade payables, including accruals not yet 
billed, are recognised when the Group becomes 
obliged to make future payments as a result of a 
purchase of assets or services. Trade payables 
are carried at amortised cost which is the fair 
value of the consideration to be paid in the future 
for goods and services received. Trade payables 
are unsecured and are generally settled within 
30 to 45 days.

Employee entitlements

Wages and salaries and annual leave

Liabilities for wages and salaries, including non-
monetary benefits and annual leave expected 
to be wholly settled within 12 months from the 
balance sheet date are recognised in payables 
and accruals in respect of employees’ services 
up to the balance sheet date and are measured 
at the amounts expected to be paid when the 
liabilities are settled. Amounts to be settled more 
than 12 months after the balance sheet date are 
recognised as a non-current payable. Liabilities 
for non-accumulating sick leave are recognised 
when the leave is taken and measured at the 
rates paid or payable.

A liability for short-term incentives is recognised 
in trade payables when there is an expectation 
of settlement and at least one of the following 
conditions is met:

• 

• 

• 

there are contracted terms in the plan for 
determining the amount of the benefit;

the amounts to be paid are determined 
before the time of completion of the 
financial statements; or

past practice gives clear evidence of the 
amount of the obligation.

Liabilities for short-term incentives are 
expected to be settled within 12 months and are 
recognised at the amounts expected to be paid 
when they are settled. 

Refer to note 4.3 for disclosures relating to 
share based payments and note 7.1 for key 
management compensation.

Deferred revenue

The accounting policy for deferred revenue is 
disclosed in note 2.1.

96 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

3.7  NET TANGIBLE LIABILITIES

Net tangible assets per share is a non-GAAP measure that is required to be disclosed by the  
NZX Listing Rules.

The calculation of the Group's net tangible assets per share and its reconciliation to the consolidated 
balance sheet is presented below: 

As at 31 December

Total assets

Deferred tax asset

Intangible assets

Total liabilities

Net tangible liabilities

Minority interest

Net tangible liabilities for the owners of the Company

Number of shares issued (in thousands) 

Net tangible liabilities per share (in $)

3.8  BUSINESSDESK ACQUISITION

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

290,399

306,237

(5,709)

(3,959)

(142,445)

(143,779)

(157,952)

(168,459)

(15,707)

(9,960)

-

(15,707)

183,914

($0.09)

789

(9,171)

183,914

($0.05)

At 31 December 2023 it was determined that no earn-out provision was payable in relation to the acquisition 
of BusinessDesk on 17 January 2022. All provisions in relation to the potential payment of the earn-out 
provision have been released. 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 97

4.0  CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

4.1 

SHARE CAPITAL

2023
’000

2022
’000

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

Authorised, issued and paid up share capital

Balance at the beginning of the period

183,914 

197,570

344,473

361,758

Deferred tax on share schemes

Repurchase of shares

Shares issued during the year

- 

- 

- 

-

892

-

(14,705)

1,049

-

- 

(17,599)

314

Balance at the end of the period

183,914 

183,914

345,365

344,473

Accounting policy

Ordinary shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs directly attributable to the issue of new 
shares or options are shown in equity as a deduction, net of tax, from the proceeds.

4.2  RESERVES

As at 1 January 2022

Share based payments expense

TIP settlement

Transfer to retained earnings

Share of revaluation of joint ventures'  
and associates' assets

Effective gain on hedging instruments

Reclassification to profit or loss

Net exchange difference on translation of foreign 
operations

As at 31 December 2022

Share based payments expense

Effective loss on hedging instruments

Reclassification to profit or loss

Net exchange difference on translation of foreign 
operations

Share based 
payments
$’000

Equity 
investments 
revaluation
$’000

3,060 

1,683 

(1,085)

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

3,658 

341 

- 

- 

- 

1,271 

- 

- 

(259)

51 

- 

- 

- 

1,063 

- 

- 

- 

- 

As at 31 December 2023

3,999 

1,063 

Other
$’000

589 

- 

- 

- 

- 

166 

(199)

5 

561 

- 

(1)

Total 
$’000

4,920 

1,683 

(1,085)

(259)

51 

166 

(199)

5 

5,282 

341 

(1)

(204)

(204)

(2)

354 

(2)

5,416 

Other reserves include the cash flow hedge reserve which has a balance of $nil at 31 December 2023  
(see note 4.7.2), the asset revaluation reserve and the foreign currency translation reserve.

98 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

4.3  SHARE BASED PAYMENTS

As at 1 January

Granted (2021 TIP) A

Granted (2022 TIP LTI component) B

Granted (2023 TIP LTI component) B

Adjustment for dividends foregone C

Surrendered D

Shares issued (2019 TIP) E

Forfeited F

2023

2022

Average price  
per right ($)

Number  
of rights

Average price  
per right ($)

Number  
of rights

0.64

 6,715,262 

 0.52 

 7,126,686 

 - 

 - 

 - 

0.73 

0.85 

- 

- 

 - 

 496,765 

 287,771 

 - 

 - 

0.52

 - 

 1.13 

 - 

 1.30 

 0.63 

 (7,398)

 - 

 585,324 

 - 

 518,446 

 (735,561)

 0.63 

 (1,048,583)

 0.92 

 (279,151)

 - 

 - 

Granted (2022 TIP STI component) A

1.43 

 (3,504)

Granted and awarded as at 31 December

7,217,143

2022 TIP STI component (estimation) G

- 

 - 

As at 31 December

 0.60 

7,217,143

 6,438,914 

 276,348 

 6,715,262 

 1.43 

0.64

A  Adjustment to the number of actual rights issued 

under the various TIP schemes.

B  The number of performance rights granted in 

relation to the LTI components of the 2022 and 
2023 TIP schemes. 

C  For the 2019, 2020 and 2021 TIP schemes the 
Board has approved that participants will be 
entitled to additional shares, or a cash payment, 
when the rights are exercised for any dividends 
foregone during the period that the rights are 
held. For dividends declared during the period  
1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023, this resulted 
in an additional 549,635 shares accrued. 

D  Surrendered performance rights relate to the 

2019 TIP, with participants surrendering rights in 
lieu of PAYE owing on the issue of shares, and the 
2022 LTI component in relation to one participant 
surrendering their rights on leaving the Company.

E  The rights granted under the 2019 TIP were 

exercised on 30 December 2022 with 1,048,583 
shares being issued. The share price at the date  
of issue was $1.15.

F  The forfeited shares are in relation to the 2022 and 
2021 schemes where participants have not met 
the service period criteria.

G  The number of performance rights expected to 

be granted in 2023 in respect of the 2022 TIP STI 
component.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 99

In relation to the 2022 TIP and 2023 TIP the Group 
expects to issue the net shares after withholding 
shares with a value equal to the participants tax 
obligations under New Zealand tax legislation 
arising as a result of the issue of shares at the 
relevant exercise date. This reduces the dilutive 
impact of the rights on the earnings per share 
calculation for the Group for the years ended  

31 December 2023 and 31 December 2022. 
The shares that are expected to be withheld are 
excluded from the rights table above. 

Participants of the 2022 TIP and 2023 TIP are 
not entitled to receive any dividends paid by the 
Company as a holder of rights.

Share rights outstanding at the end of the year have the following exercise date:

Plan

2020 TIP scheme

2021 TIP scheme

2022 TIP (STI)

2022 TIP (LTI)

2023 TIP (LTI)

As at 31 December

Vesting date

Exercise date

2023 
Number  
of rights

2022 
Number  
of rights

31 Dec 2021

3 Jan 2024

4,119,216 

3,979,651 

31 Dec 2022

31 Dec 2024

1,901,713 

1,939,090

1 Jan 2024

3 Jan 2024

254,131 

276,348 

1 Jan 2025

1 Jan 2025

445,318 

520,173 

1 Jan 2026

1 Jan 2026

496,765 

- 

7,217,143

6,715,262

2023

2022

7 months

14 months

Weighted average remaining time until rights outstanding at  
the end of the period automatically convert to ordinary shares.  
(refer to note 4.3.2 for shares issued on 3 January 2024).

No rights were awarded for the 2023 TIP (STI) component.

4.3.1  2020 and 2021 and TIP schemes

The rights owing to the participants the  
2020 TIP have vested with an exercise date  
of 3 January 2024 (see note 4.3.2). The 2021 TIP  
rights have vested and will be settled by the issue  

of shares on 31 December 2024. See the 
consolidated financial statements for the year 
ended 31 December 2022 for the details of these 
vested schemes.

100 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

4.3.2  Issue of shares subsequent to balance sheet date

On 3 January 2024 shares were issued in relation 
to the 2020 TIP and 2022 TIP (STI component). The 

following table details the transactions relating to 
the issue of these shares.

Shares issued (2020 TIP)

Surrendered

Shares issued (2022 TIP STI component)

Decrease in rights on 3 January 2024

Number  
of rights

2,512,716 

1,606,500 

254,131 

4,373,347 

The share price at the date of issue of the shares in the above table was $1.06.

4.3.3  2022 and 2023 TIP schemes

The Company's current TIP is designed to align 
reward outcomes with individual performance 
and the performance of the Company and value 
creation for shareholders over both the short and 
long term. The framework was approved by the 
Board in February 2022.

The TIP framework includes both a short-term 
component ("STI") and a long-term incentive ("LTI"). 
The STI comprises 60% of the total TIP opportunity 

with the LTI comprising the remaining 40%.

The number of rights awarded for each scheme 
are based on the Volumn Weighted Average Price 
("VWAP") of the Company's shares for the first 20 
business days of trading following the Group's results 
announcement for the preceding financial year.

The following table summarises the grant date price 
and VWAP for the each scheme.

2020 TIP scheme

2021 TIP scheme

2021 TIP scheme

2021 TIP scheme

2022 TIP scheme - STI and LTI

2023 TIP scheme - STI and LTI

Grant date

5 Mar 2020

4 Dec 2020

10 Dec 2020

5 Nov 2021

22 Apr 2022

23 Jun 2023

Share price  
at grant date

$0.36

$0.71

$0.66

$1.25

$1.43

$0.99

VWAP

$0.40

$0.74

$0.74

$0.74

$1.39

$1.15

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 101

STI component of the schemes

The STI is based on the performance of the 
Company for the financial year measured in terms 
of earnings and the achievement of various specific 
targets set for each individual participant that 
align with the Company’s strategic goals. The STI 
component includes both a cash element and a 
share rights element. The cash payment is payable 
following the end of the financial year period, with 
share rights issued at the same time and deferred 
for an additional year before they vest, subject to 
continued employment over that extended period.

STI Performance measures

• 

• 

A minimum EBITDA threshold to be met  
before any STI awards will be payable.

Individual performance target payments  
(60% to 130%).

% of target

% of target opportunity 
awarded

< minimum target 0%

minimum up to 
100%

Pro-rata vesting between 
50% and 100%

> 100%

Potential of receiving 150%

Awards under the STI portion of the TIP are 
granted to participants following the assessment 
of performance. To the extent that performance 
measures are met:

• 

• 

58.3% of awards are made in cash; and

41.7% of awards are granted in rights to acquire 
fully paid ordinary shares in the Company for nil 
consideration ("Rights"). 

The periods and dates relevant to each scheme are 
defined below:

•

•

•

Performance 
period

the financial year of the 
scheme

Deferral period the 12 months following 
the end of the financial 
year to which the scheme 
relates

Vesting date  
of rights

1 January following the 
end of the deferral period

It is assumed that all participating employees will 
remain employed with the Company until the end of 
the deferral period (unless already resigned).

LTI Performance measures

The LTI is based on a three-year performance period 
commencing on 1 January of the financial year for 
which the scheme is offered with awards subject to 
both earnings per share ("EPS") and total shareholder 
return ("TSR") performance targets. The long-term 
component comprises an issue of share rights 
that may vest at the end of three years, subject 
to achievement of the EPS and TSR performance 
targets and continued employment by the Company. 
The EPS and TSR components both comprise equal 
portions of the LTI.

The Board will determine the performance of the 
EPS and TSR compared to target and the Board 
may adjust calculations at the relevant date to take 
account of any capital reconstructions, corporate 
transactions or any other circumstances which in its 
opinion are appropriate in the circumstances and 
consistent with the intention in respect of the LTI 
performance conditions.

The allocation of rights to participants of the scheme, 
for both the EPS and TSR components, is based on 
the following levels of performance:

% of target

% of target opportunity 
awarded

< minimum target 0%

minimum up to 
100%

Pro-rata vesting between 
50% and 100%

> 100%

100%

The periods and dates relevant to each scheme 
are defined below:

• Performance 

period

• Vesting date  

of rights

24 months from  
1 January of the financial 
year for which the 
scheme relates

A date after LTI 
performance conditions 
determined

102 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Accounting policy

Total incentive plan ("TIP")

The fair value of rights granted under the TIP plan 
is recognised as an employee benefits expense 
with a corresponding increase in equity over the 
vesting period, being the performance period 
and the service period. The fair value is measured 
at grant date and the number of rights are 
determined using the volume weighted average 
price of NZME's shares on the NZX over the first 
5 trading days of the performance period, for 
the 2020 and 2021 TIP schemes, and the first 20 
consecutive NZX trading days after the release of 
the Group's financial result for the preceding year 
for the 2022 and 2023 TIP schemes. 

The fair value at grant date is determined 
taking into account the share price, any market 
performance conditions and any non-vesting 
conditions, but excluding the impact of any 
service and non-market performance  
vesting conditions.

Non-market vesting conditions are included in 
assumptions about the number of rights that are 
expected to vest. At each balance sheet date, the 
Group revises its estimate of the number of rights 
that are expected to become exercisable.

The performance target for the TSR component 
of current and future incentive plans is a market 
vesting condition which is taken into account 
in calculating the grant date fair value. The 
fair value reflects the likelihood of various TSR 
outcomes and adjustments to unvested rights are 
only made to reflect changes in the number of 
participants that will meet the service condition.

The employee benefits expense recognised 
each period takes into account the most recent 
estimate. The impact of the revision to the 
original estimates, is recognised in profit or loss 
with a corresponding adjustment to equity.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 103

4.4  DIVIDENDS

4.4.1  Dividend policy

The Group’s dividend policy is to pay dividends 
of between 50-80% (2022: 50-80%) of free 
cash flow while having regard to the Company’s 
capital requirements, operating performance 
and financial position. The payment of dividends 
is also subject to the Company being within the 
leverage ratio range of 0.5 to 1 times the rolling 
12 month trading EBITDA. 

Final dividend for 2022, declared 22 February 2023, 
paid 22 March 2023 

Special dividend, declared 20 June 2022,  
paid 12 July 2022

Interim dividend for 2023, declared 24 August 2023,  
paid 27 September 2023

Total dividends declared and paid during the year

Supplementary final dividend for 2022  
paid 22 March 2023

Supplementary special dividend paid 12 July 2022

Supplementary interim dividend for 2023  
paid 27 September 2023

4.4.2  Dividends paid and declared

Amounts recognised as distributions  
to equity holders during the year:

2023
Cents per 
share

2022
Cents per 
share

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

6.0 

5.0 

11,035 

9,879 

- 

3.0 

5.0 

3.0 

- 

9,678 

5,517 

5,795 

16,552 

25,352 

1.06 

0.88 

1,514 

1,166 

- 

0.88 

0.88 

0.53 

- 

1,188 

589 

817 

Total supplementary dividends declared and paid

2,103 

3,171 

Proposed final dividend for the year ended  
31 December 2023

The dividends paid in 2023 were not franked while in 
2022 the final dividend for 2021 was fully franked, the 
special dividend paid in July was partially franked and 
the interim dividend for 2022 was not franked.

Supplementary dividends were paid to registered 
shareholders who were not tax residents in New 
Zealand and who held less than 10% of the shares 

6.0

6.0 

11,201

11,035 

in the Company at the record date for the related 
distribution.

The proposed dividend, declared by the Board  
of Directors on 20 February 2024, is to be paid  
on 20 March 2024 to registered shareholders as  
at 8 March 2024.

104 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

4.4.3  Imputation credits

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

Imputation credits available for subsequent reporting periods based on the 
New Zealand 28% tax rate for the Group

NZ$ 24,205

NZ$ 24,211

4.5 

INTEREST BEARING LIABILITIES

The following table details the Group’s combined net debt at 31 December 2023. 

The movements in these balances during the year are provided in notes 4.5.1 Secured bank loans  
and note 4.5.2 Lease liabilities.

Bank loans

Cash and cash equivalents

Net bank debt 

Lease liabilities

Net debt at 31 December

4.5.1  Secured bank loans

Bank loans

As at 1 January

Proceeds from borrowings

Repayments of borrowings

Capitalised borrowing costs

Amortisation of borrowing costs

Loan modification adjustments

Reclassification of unamortised borrowing costs from prepayments

As at 31 December

Cash and cash equivalents

As at 1 January

Cash flows

As at 31 December

Net bank debt

2023
$’000

23,490

(5,524)

17,966

84,677

2022
$’000

23,134

(5,670)

17,464

91,174

102,643

108,638

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

23,134

-

82,500

71,250

(82,500)

(47,250)

-

98

258

-

(166)

236

(564)

(372)

23,490

23,134

(5,670)

(13,538)

146

(5,524)

17,966

7,868

(5,670)

17,464

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 105

The Group is funded from a combination of its  
own cash reserves and NZ$50 million bilateral  
bank loan facilities, which NZME refinanced on  
21 November 2018, 22 July 2020 and 9 December 
2022, of which $24.0 million (2022: $24.0 million) 
is drawn and $26.0 million (2022: $26.0 million) 
is undrawn as at 31 December 2023. This facility 
expires on 31 January 2026.

The interest rate for the drawn facility is the BKBM 
plus credit margin.

The NZME bilateral facilities contain undertakings 
which are customary for facilities of this nature 

Accounting policy

including, but not limited to, provision of 
information, negative pledge and restrictions  
on priority indebtedness and disposals of assets.  
The assets of the Group are collateral for the 
interest bearing liability.

In addition, the Group must comply with financial 
covenants (a net debt to EBITDA ratio and an EBITDA 
to net interest expense ratio) for each 12 month 
period ending on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September 
and 31 December. The Group has complied with 
these covenants throughout the year.

Borrowings are initially recognised at fair value less 
attributable transaction costs and subsequently 
measured at amortised cost. Any difference 
between cost and redemption value is recognised 
in the income statement over the period of the 
borrowing on an effective interest basis.

Costs incurred in connection with the arrangement 
of borrowings are deferred and amortised over the 
period of the borrowing. These costs are netted 
off against the carrying value of borrowings in 
the balance sheet. 

4.5.2  Lease liabilities

As at 1 January

Current lease liabilities

Non-current lease liabilities

Total lease liabilities

Interest on lease liabilities

New leases

Changes in scope, lease terms and other adjustments

Total lease liabilities before cash payments

Interest paid on leases

Principal payments

Total cash payments

Total lease liabilities at 31 December

Current lease liabilities

Non-current lease liabilities

Total lease liabilities at 31 December

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

11,596

79,578

91,174

4,703

1,100

5,544

11,340

85,445

96,785

4,890

3,428

2,920

102,521

108,023

(4,703)

(13,141)

(4,890)

(11,959)

(17,844)

(16,849)

84,677

12,572

72,105

84,677

91,174

11,596

79,578

91,174

 
 
 
 
 
 
106 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

4.6  CASH FLOW INFORMATION

Reconciliation of net cash inflows from operating activities to profit 
for the year:

Profit for the year

Depreciation and amortisation expense

Borrowing cost amortisation

Non cash movement on overhedged swaps

Loan modification adjustments

Change in current / deferred tax payable

Net loss on sale of non-current assets

Group's share of retained losses in joint ventures and associates

Lease adjustments

Impairment reversal of property plant and equipment

Impairment reversal of right-of-use asset

Share based payment expense

BusinessDesk earn-out provision

Changes in assets and liabilities net of effect of acquisitions:

Trade and other receivables

Inventories

Prepayments

Trade and other payables and employee entitlements

Net cash inflows from operating activities

Note

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

12,200

28,623

98

74

258

22,680

27,391

236

(59)

(564)

(2,261)

(3,489)

-

675

68

-

-

341

(413)

4,256

560

631

(3,604)

41,506

7

231

(58)

(392)

(157)

1,683

413

(3,109)

(3,735)

(198)

(3,391)

37,489

3.8

Accounting policy

For the purposes of presentation on the statement of cash flows, cash and cash equivalents includes 
cash on hand and short term deposits held at call with finance institutions, net of bank overdrafts. 

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 107

4.7 

FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT

4.7.2  Market risk

4.7.1  Capital and risk management

Cash flow and fair value interest rate risk

The Group's objectives when managing capital  
are to:

• 

safeguard their ability to continue as a going 
concern, so that they can continue to provide 
returns for shareholders and benefits for other 
stakeholders; and  

•  maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce 

the cost of capital. 

In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, 
the Group may adjust the amount of dividends paid 
to shareholders, return capital to shareholders, 
issue new shares or sell assets to reduce debt.

Refer to note 4.5 for undrawn facilities to which 
the Group has access to as well as the net debt 
calculation that is used by the Group to manage 
capital requirements.

The Group’s activities expose it to a variety  
of financial risks:

•  market risk, including interest rate risk  

and price risk;

credit risk; and

liquidity risk.

• 

• 

The Group’s overall risk management programme 
focuses on the unpredictability of financial markets 
and seeks to minimise potential adverse effects 
on the financial performance of the Group. The 
Group uses different methods to measure different 
types of risk to which it is exposed. These methods 
include sensitivity analysis in the case of interest 
rate and ageing analysis for credit risk.

Financial risk management is carried out by the 
Group Treasury function. The Group Treasury 
function meet regularly with the Group Chief 
Financial Officer to cover specific areas, such as 
interest rate risk and credit risk, use of derivative 
financial instruments and non-derivative financial 
instruments, and investment of excess liquidity. 
Due to the Group's limited operations in foreign 
jurisdictions, the Group does not have a significant 
foreign exchange exposure.

Long term borrowings issued at variable rates 
expose the Group to cash flow interest rate risk. 
Borrowings issued at fixed interest rates expose 
the Group to fair value interest rate risk. 

The Group has previously used derivative 
financial instruments to hedge it's exposure 
to interest rate risk. At 31 December 2023 the 
Group had no derivative financial instruments 
compared to the $15.0 million invested at  
31 December 2022 with a current asset value  
of $279,485. The final interest rate swap matured 
in August 2023 and during the period ended  
on this date an expense of $74,394 (2022:  
a credit of $58,605) was recorded in finance 
costs relating to fair value adjustments.  
At 31 December 2023 current interest bearing debt 
is fixed for 60 days on a rolling basis. The exposure 
to interest rate risk is no longer managed through 
the use of hedges as the risk is not significant.

Based on the outstanding net floating debt at  
31 December 2023 a change in interest rates  
of +/-1% per annum with all other variables being 
constant would have impacted post-tax profit  
and equity by $0.2 million lower / higher  
(2022: $0.2 million lower / higher). 

Price risk

The Group is not exposed to significant price risk. 
There is some risk associated with other financial 
assets however this is not deemed to be significant.

4.7.3  Credit risk

Credit risk is managed on a Group basis. Credit 
risk arises from cash and cash equivalents and 
deposits with banks and financial institutions, as 
well as credit exposures to wholesale and retail 
customers, including outstanding receivables 
and committed transactions. For banks and 
financial institutions, the creditworthiness is 
assessed prior to entering into arrangements 
and approved by the Board. For other customers, 
NZME's credit control department assesses 
the credit quality, taking into account financial 
position, past experience and other factors. The 
utilisation of credit limits is regularly monitored 
and the Group does not normally obtain 
collateral from its customers.

 
108 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

The table below sets out additional information about the credit quality of trade receivables net of the 
provision for impairment. 

31 December 2023

Expected loss rate

Trade receivables

Impaired receivables

31 December 2022

Expected loss rate

Trade receivables

Impaired receivables

Current 
$’000

Less than  
one month 
$’000

0.4%

25,200

(102)

1.0%

7,725

(81)

25,098

7,644

Current 
$’000

Less than  
one month 
$’000

0.1%

29,924

(39)

0.7%

8,264

(60)

29,885

8,204

Trade receivables are generally settled within 30 to 45 
days. The Directors consider the carrying amount of 
trade receivables approximates to their net fair value. 
Trade receivables are monitored on an individual basis 
and the Company considers the probability of default 
upon initial recognition of the trade receivable and 
throughout the year and provides for trade receivables 
considered to be impaired.

As of 31 December 2023, trade receivables of 
$3,922,000 (2022: $3,929,000) were past due  
but not impaired.

Past due

Three to  
six months 
$’000

Over six 
months 
$’000

Total 
$’000

10.6%

1,403

(149)

1,254

15.3%

1,249

37,295

(191)

(631)

1,058

36,664

Past due

Three to  
six months 
$’000

Over six 
months 
$’000

Total 
$’000

8.7%

1,339

(117)

1,222

22.9%

1,134

42,534

(260)

(516)

874

42,018

One to 
three 
months 
$’000

6.3%

1,718

(108)

1,610

One to 
three 
months 
$’000

2.1%

1,873

(40)

1,833

The maximum exposure to credit risk at  
31 December 2023 is equal to the carrying  
amount of cash and cash equivalents and trade  
and other receivables. The Group is not exposed 
to any concentrations of credit risk within cash and 
cash equivalents or trade and other receivables.

Credit risk further arises in relation to financial 
guarantees given to certain parties from time to time.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 109

4.7.4  Liquidity risk

Prudent liquidity risk management implies 
maintaining sufficient cash and marketable 
securities, the availability of funding through an 
adequate amount of committed credit facilities and 
the ability to close out market positions. Due to the 
dynamic nature of the underlying business, Group 
Treasury aims at maintaining flexibility in funding 
by keeping committed credit lines available. 

Management monitors rolling forecasts of the 
Group’s liquidity reserve on the basis of expected 
cash flows. 

The tables below analyse the Group’s financial 
liabilities including interest to maturity into relevant 
maturity groupings based on the remaining period 
at the balance sheet date to the contractual maturity 
date. The amounts disclosed in the tables are the 
contractual undiscounted cash flows.

Less than  
one year
$’000

Between 
one and two 
years
$’000

Between 
two and five 
years
$’000

Over  
five years
$’000

Total  
cash flows
$’000

31 December 2023

Trade payables and accruals

25,271 

- 

- 

- 

Lease liabilities

16,660 

15,802 

43,875 

23,437 

25,271 

99,774 

30,120 

2,040

43,971

2,040

17,842

26,040

69,915

- 

23,437

155,165

Bank loans 

Total

31 December 2022

Trade payables and accruals

Lease liabilities

Bank loans 

Total

30,133 

15,992 

2,160

- 

- 

- 

30,133 

14,932 

42,124 

36,950 

109,998 

2,160

26,160

- 

30,480 

48,285

17,092

68,284

36,950

170,611

4.8 

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

4.8.1  Fair value hierarchy

The Group measures and recognises the following 
assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis:

• 

• 

Financial assets at fair value through profit or 
loss (FVTPL);

Land and buildings (excluding leasehold 
improvements).

NZ IFRS 13 requires disclosure of fair value 
measurements by level of the following fair  
value measurement hierarchy:

• 

• 

• 

Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active 
markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2: inputs other than quoted prices included 
within level 1 that are observable for the asset  
or liability, either directly or indirectly; and

Level 3: inputs for the asset or liability that 
are not based on observable market data 
(unobservable inputs).

110 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

4.8.2  Recognised fair value measurements

Note

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

Recurring fair value measurements

Financial assets (Level 2)

Derivative financial instruments: current assets

4.7.2

Financial assets (Level 3)

There are no financial assets carried at fair value. Other financial assets 
of $815,000 A (2022: $815,000) are measured at amortised cost and 
therefore have been excluded from this table.

Total financial assets

Non-financial assets (Level 3)

  Freehold land

  Buildings

Total non-financial assets

3.2

3.2

-

-

265

54

319

279

279

265

56

321

A  Other financial assets comprise of a loan to Event Finda NZ Ltd. The loan is interest bearing and  

is repayable under certain conditions.

All fair value measurements referred to above are in 
either level 2 or level 3 of the fair value hierarchy and 
there were no transfers between levels. The Group’s 
policy is to recognise transfers between fair value 
hierarchy levels as at the end of the year.

the balances comprise of prepayments in relation 
to cash already received by the Group and lease 
receivables where the carrying value has been 
calculated based on net present values of future 
cash inflows.

4.8.3  Disclosed fair values

The Group also has a number of assets and liabilities 
which are not measured at fair value but for which 
fair values are disclosed in these notes.

The carrying amounts of current trade receivables 
and payables are assumed to approximate their fair 
values due to their short-term nature.

The fair value of the non-current trade receivables 
are assumed to approximate their carrying values as 

The fair value of interest bearing liabilities disclosed 
in note 4.5 is estimated by discounting the future 
contractual cash flows at the current market 
interest rates that are available to the Group for 
similar financial instruments. For the year ended 
31 December 2023, the borrowing rates were 
determined to be between 6.1% and 7.9% (2022: 
between 3.8% and 7.2%), depending on the 
type of borrowing. The fair value of borrowings 
approximates the carrying amount, as the impact  
of discounting is not significant (level 2).

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 111

4.8.4  Valuation techniques used to derive  

at level 2 and 3 fair values

Recurring fair value measurements

The fair value of financial instruments that are not 
traded in an active market is determined using 
valuation techniques. These valuation techniques 
maximise the use of observable market data where 
it is available and rely as little as possible on entity 
specific estimates. If all significant inputs required 
to fair value an instrument are observable, the 
instrument is included in level 2.

If one or more of the significant inputs is not  
based on observable market data, the instrument  
is included in level 3.

The Group uses Director valuation, supported by an 
independent valuation performed in February 2024, 
for its freehold land and buildings less subsequent 
depreciation for buildings, to ensure that the 
carrying value of the assets is materially consistent 
with their fair value. The land and buildings owned 
by the Group are transmission sites and associated 
buildings, and as such are specialised and have 
limited saleability. The best evidence of fair value 
is current prices in an active market for similar 
properties; however, these are not readily available 
for such specialised sites in such locations. The 
Directors believe that the current carrying value of 
the assets equates to their fair value given the nature 
and location of the assets. All resulting fair value 
estimates for properties are included as level 3.

 
112 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

5.0  TAXATION

5.1 

INCOME TAX EXPENSE

Reported income tax expense comprises: 

Current tax expense

Deferred tax benefit

Under / (over) provision in prior years 

Income tax expense

Income tax expense differs from the amount prima facie payable as follows:

Profit before income tax expense

Prima facie income tax at 28% 

Non-assessable asset sales and exempt distribution receipts

Non-assessable loss from equity accounting of investments  
in joint ventures and associates

Non-deductible expenses

Share schemes' assessible cost

Under / (over) provision in prior years 

Income tax expense

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

5,920

(858)

516

5,578

17,778

4,978 

- 

165 

145 

(226)

516 

5,578 

9,055

(475)

(21)

8,559

31,239 

8,747

(363)

43

153

-

(21)

8,559

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 113

Opening 
Balance 
$’000

Recognised  
in income 
$’000

Recognised 
in equity 
$’000

Closing 
Balance 
$’000

1,020

178

353

(344)

504

(24,465)

27,100

(1,718)

857

-

3,485 

337

(33)

(375)

37

428

1,314

(1,571)

327

167

(157)

474 

1,357 

(266)

145 

(22)

(307)

932 

(23,151)

32 

309 

37 

411 

1,751 

25,529 

(1,819)

(1,391)

1,024 

(157)

3,959 

149 

96 

158 

858 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

892 

- 

1,357 

145 

(22)

(307)

932 

(23,151)

25,529 

(1,391)

1,024 

(157)

3,959 

1,091 

177 

287 

(270)

1,343 

(21,400)

23,710 

(1,242)

2,012 

1 

892 

5,709 

5.2  DEFERRED TAX

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are attributable to:

2022

Employee entitlements

Provision for impairment

Accruals / restructuring

Intangible assets 

Property, plant and equipment

Right-of-use assets

Lease liabilitites

Finance lease receivables

Share schemes

Other

2023

Employee entitlements

Provision for impairment

Accruals / restructuring

Intangible assets 

Property, plant and equipment

Right-of-use assets

Lease liabilitites

Finance lease receivables

Share schemes

Other

There are unrecognised tax losses of $1,881,808 (A$1,744,812) (2022: $1,860,736 (A$1,744,812)) in an 
Australian subsidiary of the Company which have not been recognised as there is uncertainty as to their 
future recoverability. The deferred tax asset on these losses was not offset against the deferred tax liabilities 
of the rest of the Group because they are levied by a different tax authority.

114 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Accounting policies

The tax expense for the year comprises current 
and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the income 
statement, except to the extent that it relates 
to items recognised in other comprehensive 
income or directly in equity. In this case the tax is 
also recognised in other comprehensive income 
or directly in equity, respectively.

Assets and liabilities are offset when there is a 
legally enforceable right to offset current tax 
assets against current tax liabilities and when the 
deferred income tax assets and liabilities relate 
to income taxes levied by the same taxation 
authority on either the same taxable entity 
or different taxable entities where there is an 
intention to settle the balances on a net basis.

Income tax

The current income tax charge is calculated 
on the basis of the tax laws enacted or 
substantively enacted at the balance sheet 
date in the countries where the Company and 
its subsidiaries operate and generate taxable 
income. Management periodically evaluates 
positions taken in tax returns with respect to 
situations in which applicable tax regulation is 
subject to interpretation. It establishes provision 
where appropriate on the basis of amounts 
expected to be paid to the tax authorities.

Deferred tax

Deferred tax is recognised, using the liability 
method, on temporary differences arising 
between the tax bases of assets and liabilities 
and their carrying amounts in the consolidated 
financial statements. However, deferred tax 
liabilities are not recognised if they arise from 
the initial recognition of goodwill; deferred 
income tax is not accounted for if it arises from 
initial recognition of an asset or liability in a 
transaction other than a business combination 
that at the time of the transaction affects neither 
accounting nor taxable profit or loss. Deferred 
income tax is determined using tax rates (and 
laws) that have been enacted or substantially 
enacted by the balance sheet date and are 
expected to apply when the related deferred 
income tax asset is realised or the deferred 
income tax liability is settled.

Assets are recognised only to the extent that  
it is probable that future taxable profit will 
be available against which the temporary 
differences can be utilised. 

Tax is provided on temporary differences arising 
on investments in subsidiaries and associates, 
except for tax liabilities where the timing of 
the reversal of the temporary difference is 
controlled by the Group and it is probable that 
the temporary difference will not reverse in the 
foreseeable future.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 115

6.0  GROUP STRUCTURE AND INVESTMENTS IN OTHER ENTITIES

6.1 

CONTROLLED ENTITIES

The consolidated financial statements incorporate the assets, liabilities and results of the subsidiaries listed 
below. Unless otherwise stated, they have share capital consisting solely of ordinary shares that are held 
directly by the Group, and the proportion of ownership interest held equals the voting rights held by the 
Group. All entities are incorporated in, and operate in, New Zealand and the ownership interest is 100% 
unless otherwise stated.

Name of entity

Name of entity

NZME Advisory Limited

NZME Radio Investments Limited

NZME Australia Pty Limited A

NZME Radio Limited B

NZME Educational Media Limited

NZME Specialist Limited 

NZME Holdings Limited

The Hive Online Limited

NZME Investments Limited 

New Zealand Radio Network Limited

NZME Print Limited 

The Radio Bureau Limited

NZME Publishing Limited

OneRoof Limited C

A  Incorporated in, and operates in, Australia.

C  The Group acquired the remaining 20% of the 

B  One "Kiwi Share" held by the Minister of Finance. 
The rights and obligations are set out in the NZME 
Radio constitution.

shares in OneRoof Limited resulting in the Group 
holding 100% (2022: 80%). See note 6.1.1 for 
further details.

116 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

6.1.1  Acquistion of OneRoof Limited's shares

On 18 August 2023 OneRoof Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group when the Group 
acquired the remaining 20% of the shares in OneRoof Limited from Hougarden.com Limited for $2.1 million. 
The terms of the purchase agreement included an immediate payment of $0.9 million with the remaining 
amount of $1.2 million to be paid in three equal instalments of $0.4 million on 1 July 2024, 1 July 2025 and  
1 July 2026.

At 31 December 2023 the consolidated financial statements for the Group contain the following items 
relating to the acquisition:

Balance sheet

Current liabilities (Trade and other payables)

Non-current liabilities (Other payables)

Total liabilities included in the balance sheet

Consolidated Statement of cash flows

Payments to non-controlling interests A

Total included in net cash outflows from financing activities

A  Includes legal costs incurred by the Group in relation to the process of acquiring the shares.

2023
$’000

376

676

1,052

(952)

(952)

Accounting policies

The Group controls an entity when the Group 
is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns 
from its involvement with the entity and has the 
ability to affect those returns through its power 
to direct the activities of the entity. Subsidiaries 
are fully consolidated from the date on which 
control is transferred to the Group. They are de-
consolidated from the date that control ceases. 
The acquisition method of accounting is used to 
account for business combinations by the Group.

Intercompany transactions, balances and 
unrealised gains on transactions between 
Group companies are eliminated. Accounting 
policies of subsidiaries have been changed 
where necessary to ensure consistency with the 
policies adopted by the Group. Non-controlling 
interests in the results and equity of subsidiaries 
are shown separately in the consolidated income 
statement, statement of comprehensive income, 
statement of changes in equity and balance 
sheet respectively. 

 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 117

2023 
Ownership 
Interest

2022  
Ownership 
Interest

40%

40%

38.82%

38.82%

38%

21%

49%

38%

21%

49%

40.41%

40.41%

50%

50%

6.2  INTERESTS IN OTHER ENTITIES

6.2.1  Associates, joint ventures and joint operations

The Group has the following associates, joint ventures and joint operations:

Name of entity

Eveve New Zealand Limited A

New Zealand Press Association Limited A

Restaurant Hub Limited A

The Beacon Printing & Publishing Company Limited A

The Gisborne Herald Company Limited A

The Wairoa Star Limited A

The Radio Bureau B

A  These entities are classified as joint ventures or associates and are accounted for using the equity method 

in the consolidated financial statements.

B  The Radio Bureau is classified as a joint operation and the Group has included its direct right to the assets, 
liabilities, revenues and expenses of joint operations and its share of any jointly held or incurred assets, 
liabilities, revenues and expenses in these consolidated financial statements.

118 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

Accounting policies

Associates

Associates are all entities over which the Group 
has significant influence but not control or joint 
control. Interests in associates are accounted 
for in the consolidated financial statements 
using the equity method (see below), after 
initially being recognised at cost. The Group’s 
investment in associates includes goodwill (net 
of any accumulated impairment loss) identified 
on acquisition.

Joint arrangements

Under NZ IFRS 11: Joint Arrangements 
investments in joint arrangements are classified 
as either joint operations or joint ventures. The 
classification depends on the contractual rights 
and obligations of each investor, rather than the 
legal structure of the joint arrangement. 

The Group recognises its direct right to the 
assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of 
joint operations and its share of any jointly held 
or incurred assets, liabilities, revenues and 
expenses. These have been incorporated in the 
consolidated financial statements under the 
appropriate headings.

The Group's interests in joint ventures are 
accounted for using the equity method (see 
below) after initially being recognised at cost in 
the consolidated balance sheet.

6.2.2  Equity accounted investments

As at 1 January

Share of operating losses

Dividends received

Asset revaluation (Wairoa Star)

As at 31 December

Equity method of accounting

Under the equity method of accounting, the 
investments are initially recognised at cost and 
adjusted thereafter to recognise the Group’s share 
of the post-acquisition profits or losses of the 
investee in profit or loss, and the Group’s share 
of movements in other comprehensive income 
of the investee in other comprehensive income. 
Dividends received or receivable from associates 
and joint ventures are recognised as a reduction in 
the carrying amount of the investment.

When the Group’s share of losses in an equity-
accounted investment equals or exceeds 
its interest in the entity, including any other 
unsecured long-term receivables, the Group 
does not recognise further losses, unless it has 
incurred obligations or made payments on behalf 
of the other entity.

Unrealised gains on transactions between the 
Group and its associates and joint ventures 
are eliminated to the extent of the Group’s 
interest in these entities. Unrealised losses 
are also eliminated unless the transaction 
provides evidence of an impairment of the 
asset transferred. Accounting policies of equity 
accounted investees have been changed where 
necessary to ensure consistency with the 
policies adopted by the Group.

The carrying amount of equity-accounted 
investments is tested for impairment whenever 
events or changes in circumstances indicate that 
the carrying amount may not be recoverable.

2023
$’000

3,443 

(588)

(87)

- 

2022
$’000

3,623

(156)

(75)

51

2,768 

3,443

The equity accounted investments are not considered to be material to the Group's operations or results and 
therefore no disclosures of the summarised financial information for these investments have been made.

ANNUAL REPORT 2023 119

7.0  RELATED PARTIES

7.1 

KEY MANAGEMENT COMPENSATION

Note

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

Total remuneration for Directors and other key management 
personnel:

Short term benefits

Post-employment benefits

Termination benefits

Dividends (relating to shares held in the Company during the year)

Share-based payments

4.2

5,403

5,953

123

335

211

341

6,413 

159

-

212

1,683

8,007

The table above includes remuneration of the Board of Directors and the Executive Team, including amounts paid 
to members of the Executive Team who left during the year. Where a staff member was acting in a position on the 
Executive Team, that portion of their remuneration has been included in the table above. The 2022 comparative 
has been reclassified to reflect the separation of post employment benefits from short term benefits.

7.2  OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PARTIES

The following table details the year end balances between the Group and its associates.

Balances with associates

Receivables

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

330

65

The following table details the transactions between the Group and its associates during the year.

Transactions with associates

Advertising revenue earned

Services provided by the Group

Paper usage reimbursed

Services received by the Group

2023
$’000

2022
$’000

33

731

-

(2)

25

98 

46 

(19)

120 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONTINUED

8.0  COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES 

The Group is subject to litigation incidental to the 
business, none of which is expected to be material.

9.0  SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

The Directors are not aware of any material events 
subsequent to the balance sheet date.

 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 121

Independent auditor’s report
To the shareholders of NZME Limited

Our opinion
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated financial statements of NZME Limited (the Company),
including its subsidiaries (the Group), present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the
Group as at 31 December 2023, its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in
accordance with New Zealand Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (NZ IFRS)
and International Financial Reporting Standards Accounting Standards (IFRS Accounting Standards).

What we have audited
The Group's consolidated financial statements comprise:
●
●
●
●
●
●

the consolidated balance sheet as at 31 December 2023;
the consolidated income statement for the year then ended;
the consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year then ended;
the consolidated statement of changes in equity for the year then ended;
the consolidated statement of cash flows for the year then ended; and
the notes to the consolidated financial statements, comprising material accounting policy
information and other explanatory information.

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (New Zealand) (ISAs
(NZ)) and International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Our responsibilities under those standards are
further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated financial statements
section of our report.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis
for our opinion.

Independence
We are independent of the Group in accordance with Professional and Ethical Standard 1 International
Code of Ethics for Assurance Practitioners (including International Independence Standards) (New
Zealand) (PES 1) issued by the New Zealand Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the
International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence
Standards) issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA Code), and we
have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

Our firm carries out other services for the Group in the areas of agreed upon procedures relating to the
benchmarking of market revenue data and non-audit assurance services relating to greenhouse gas
emissions. In addition, our firm, certain partners and employees may deal with the Group on normal
terms within the ordinary course of trading activities of the Group. The provision of these other
services and relationships have not impaired our independence as auditor of the Group.

Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in
our audit of the consolidated financial statements of the current year. These matters were addressed
in the context of our audit of the consolidated financial statements as a whole, and in forming our
opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC Tower, 15 Customs Street West, Private Bag 92162, Auckland 1142 New Zealand
T: +64 9 355 8000, www.pwc.co.nz

 
122 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

Description of the key audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

Impairment assessment of indefinite
life intangible assets
As at 31 December 2023, the total
carrying amount of the Group’s indefinite
life intangible assets, comprising goodwill,
masthead brands and other brands (the
assets), amounts to $105.1 million.
Annual impairment testing is required
under NZ IFRS.
To assess the recoverable amount of
these assets, the Group prepared
discounted cash flow models on a
Value-In-Use (VIU) basis.
The CGUs identified are Audio, Publishing
and OneRoof. Assets have been allocated
to individual cash generating units
(CGUs), including indefinite life intangible
assets which have been allocated to
Audio and Publishing.
The impairment assessments are
considered a key audit matter due to the
significance of the carrying value of the
assets as well as the inherent judgements
involved in estimating forecast cash flows,
discount rates, and long-term growth
rates.
Key estimates and assumptions included
in the impairment assessment are:
● the expected future cash flows of

each CGU, which include estimates
and assumptions around revenue;

● discount rates; and
● long-term growth rates.
Based on the assumptions above, no
impairment of indefinite life intangible
assets has been recognised. However,
management identified sensitivities where
a reasonably possible change in the key
assumptions of the Publishing CGU may
result in the carrying amount exceeding its
recoverable amount.
Refer to note 3.1.1 of the consolidated
financial statements for further
information.

We performed the following audit procedures in
relation to the impairment assessment and key
management judgements:
● held discussions with management and

understood the processes undertaken and basis
for determining the key assumptions;

● evaluated the design of controls, determined if

they are designed effectively, and confirmed that
they have been implemented;

● considered the appropriateness of management’s

CGU assessment;

● considered the appropriateness of the basis of

allocation of assets and liabilities and the forecast
cash flows to the CGUs;

● considered the reasonableness of unallocated

costs and whether these should be allocated to a
CGU;

● gained an understanding of the forecast outlook
for the industry and the strategic direction of the
business; and

● performed our own sensitivity assessment on the

cash flow forecasts to determine whether
reasonably possible adverse changes in the key
assumptions would result in an impairment.
In relation to the recoverable amounts determined
using VIU, we:
● tested the mathematical accuracy of the VIU

calculations;

● compared the forecast cash flows used for 2024 to
the Board approved budget which is adjusted to
comply with NZ IAS 36 requirements;

● assessed and challenged the reasonableness of
the forecast cash flows used for 2025 to 2028,
including management’s estimates and
assumptions around forecast revenues, with
reference to historical performance and external
market evidence;

● engaged our auditor’s valuation expert to assist us
to assess and challenge the reasonableness of
the discount rates and terminal growth rates.

We also considered the appropriateness of
disclosures made including key assumptions and
sensitivities.

PwC

2

 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 123

Our audit approach

Overview

Overall group materiality: $1,720,000, which represents 0.5% of total
revenue.

We chose total revenue as the benchmark because, in our view, it is
the benchmark against which the performance of the Group is most
commonly measured by users, and is a generally accepted benchmark.
In our judgement, revenue provides a more stable measure for
establishing our materiality benchmark and best reflects performance of
the Group. We chose 0.5% based on our professional judgement,
noting that it is also within the range of commonly accepted thresholds
for entities where revenue is considered the appropriate benchmark.

We performed a full scope audit over the consolidated information of
the Group

As reported above, we have one key audit matter, being:

●

Impairment assessment of indefinite life intangible assets

As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material
misstatement in the consolidated financial statements. In particular, we considered where
management made subjective judgements; for example, in respect of significant accounting estimates
that involved making assumptions and considering future events that are inherently uncertain. As in all
of our audits, we also addressed the risk of management override of internal controls, including among
other matters, consideration of whether there was evidence of bias that represented a risk of material
misstatement due to fraud.

Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. An audit is designed to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free from material
misstatement. Misstatements may arise due to fraud or error. They are considered material if,
individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of
users taken on the basis of the consolidated financial statements.

Based on our professional judgement, we determined certain quantitative thresholds for materiality,
including the overall Group materiality for the consolidated financial statements as a whole as set out
above. These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit,
the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures and to evaluate the effect of misstatements, both
individually and in aggregate, on the consolidated financial statements as a whole.

How we tailored our group audit scope
We tailored the scope of our audit in order to perform sufficient work to enable us to provide an opinion
on the consolidated financial statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the Group, the
accounting processes and controls, and the industry in which the Group operates.

Other information
The Directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the
information included in the Annual report, but does not include the consolidated financial statements
and our auditor's report thereon.

Our opinion on the consolidated financial statements does not cover the other information and we do
not express any form of audit opinion or assurance conclusion thereon.

PwC

3

 
 
 
 
124 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

In connection with our audit of the consolidated financial statements, our responsibility is to read the
other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent
with the consolidated financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise
appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work we have performed on the other information
that we obtained prior to the date of this auditor’s report, we conclude that there is a material
misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in
this regard.

Responsibilities of the Directors for the consolidated financial statements
The Directors are responsible, on behalf of the Company, for the preparation and fair presentation of
the consolidated financial statements in accordance with NZ IFRS and IFRS Accounting Standards,
and for such internal control as the Directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of
consolidated financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or
error.

In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the Directors are responsible for assessing the
Group’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going
concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Directors either intend to liquidate
the Group or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial
statements, as a whole, are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to
issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance,
but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (NZ) and ISAs will always
detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are
considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence
the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated financial statements is
located at the External Reporting Board’s website at:

https://www.xrb.govt.nz/assurance-standards/auditors-responsibilities/audit-report-1/

This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Who we report to
This report is made solely to the Company’s shareholders, as a body. Our audit work has been
undertaken so that we might state those matters which we are required to state to them in an auditor’s
report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume
responsibility to anyone other than the Company and the Company’s shareholders, as a body, for our
audit work, for this report or for the opinions we have formed.

The engagement partner on the audit resulting in this independent auditor’s report is Lisa Crooke.

For and on behalf of

Chartered Accountants
20 February 2024

Auckland

PwC

4

 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 125

126 NEW ZEALAND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

Registered Address

NZME Limited 
2 Graham St  
Auckland 1010 
New Zealand

Registred Office Contact Details 

Postal Address:  Private Bag 92198  

Victoria St West  
Auckland 1142  
New Zealand

Share Registry Contact Details

Postal Address:  PO Box 91976 
Auckland 1142

Street Address:  Level 30 PwC Tower 

15 Customs Street West 
Auckland

Phone: +64 9 375 5998

Website: www.linkmarketservices.co.nz

Email: enquiries@linkmarketservices.co.nz

Phone: +64 9 379 5050

Website: www.nzme.co.nz

Email: Investor_Relations@nzme.co.nz

Auditors 

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Principal Bankers 

Westpac

Principal Solicitors 

Bell Gully

Share Registry

Link Market Services

DIR E C T O R Y

 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 127

DIR E C T O R Y

TUKUTUKU KŌREROEducation Gazette NEW ZEALAND