Bermuda Press reports 2023 net loss of $466,000
Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd, the parent company of The Royal Gazette, has reported a net loss for 2023 of $466,000, which compares with a net loss of $76,000 in the prior year.
Writing in the company’s annual report, chairman Stephen R Davidson said the company “continues to be impacted by the depressed state of the local economy, including the closure or consolidation of many local businesses in recent years”.
He added: “The majority of the loss resulted from the retraction or withdrawal of large advertisers in our media operations, reflecting the overall constraints of the Bermuda economy.”
Overall, revenue declined to $18,909,000 from $19,675,000 in the previous year.
Advertising and retail revenues decreased by $671,000 (-4.8 per cent).
Print revenues decreased by $63,000 (-2.4 per cent).
Revenue from rental and other income decreased by $32,000 (-2.4 per cent).
Under tight control by management, expenses decreased to $19,380,000 in 2023 from $19,744,000 in 2022, Mr Davidson wrote.
The board declared $0.37 per share in dividends during the fiscal year. This represents a 4.625 per cent yield based on the most recent closing share price of $8.
In light of current circumstances, Mr Davidson wrote, and to preserve funds that will be required to make operational changes in 2024, the board did not declare a dividend in December 2023.
The chairman said the board believes that an active and free media is essential to Bermuda’s development as a community.
He added: “Over the past two years, the board has approved significant costs defending a legal action in the Bermuda courts to suppress The Royal Gazette from reporting aspects of local lawyer Evatt Tamine’s involvement in billionaire Robert Brockman’s tax evasion case in the United States.
“Albeit a complicated legal case, the courts effectively censored The Royal Gazette from reporting on a document that was made publicly available on websites operated by the US Department of Justice and off-island media, because the document was allegedly sealed in a Bermuda court case.
“We retained a leading media counsel to represent the company before the Bermuda Court of Appeals. However, a recent ruling dismissed our appeal of the original judgment.
“Ironically, the same ruling acknowledged that virtually all of the information originally reported upon by The Royal Gazette may now be published, and even named the offshore sources where the original sealed document can be located.
“We feel the court’s judgment has unjustly suppressed the media’s ability to report on publicly available information and sets a retrograde precedent for transparency in Bermuda.
“The board is weighing legal options, recognising that these options come at a cost to shareholders.”
Mr Davidson added that The Royal Gazette has been testing registration and paywall systems in some jurisdictions outside Bermuda, and to access its archives users are now required to log in.
He wrote: “New website designs and features will be delivered in early 2024, with a goal to move towards paid access to news.”
• For the 2023 Annual Report of The Bermuda Press Holdings, see Related Media
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