Learning Media makes 'solid progress' in 2004/05

MEDIA RELEASE
12 October 2005
For immediate release

Learning Media makes 'solid progress' in 2004/05

Learning Media Limited, which became a State-Owned Enterprise in January this year, achieved an after-tax profit of $392,000 for 04/05 year. This is $57,000 more than its projected result of $335,000 and $277,000 more than the previous year's after-tax return.

Chair of Learning Media's Board, Jerry Rickman, described the year as one of 'solid progress'.

The appointment of new distributors in Australia and Asia are expected to increase market share in international markets, where returns continue to be affected by the strength of the NZ dollar.

Mr Rickman says that the Board was pleased that a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Ministry of Education, Learning Media's largest New Zealand client. The Memorandum cements the sound relationship between the two organisations as they work together to support effective teaching and learning in New Zealand.

Key projects undertaken for the Ministry this year included:

- trialling the Te Reo Maori curriculum in mainstream schools;

- developing "Taiaha', a CD-ROM and text resource, part of a series of resources for struggling readers ; and

- completing the Building Science Concepts series of sixty-four books and online resources, after several years in development and publication.

Learning Media also works in partnership with the Ministry of Education in its leadership of the Ministry's national Literacy Professional Development Project. One hundred and thirty-eight schools across New Zealand are involved in an intensive two-year professional learning programme, which is showing early indicators of success in raising student achievement, as well as research findings that should help this improvement to be sustained.

Learning Media continues to extend its client base in New Zealand and build on its strong reputation for reading and literacy resources internationally. Highlights this year were:

- winning a three and a half-year contract with the Ministry of Health to develop and manage its health education resources;
- developing Write Tools, a multi-media writing programme for intermediate grade students, to be marketed in the U.S. This project built on success with electronic story-books in NZ and information gained from research and development here; and
- working with Thomson Nelson in Canada on a co-publishing project to develop Power Zone, a series of sixteen magazines and four teachers' guides for struggling readers in grades 7 to 10. These are already selling well in Canada, with strong interest in other markets.

"In 2005/06 we'll continue to work to our strengths of developing concepts which address educational needs and using the evidence of effective practise we gain from research to produce innovative resources for local and international markets', said Jerry Rickman.

ENDS

A copy of the 2005 Annual Report is available at:
http://www.learningmedia.co.nz/aboutus/

Learning Media is New Zealand's premier designer, developer and publisher of educational materials that enable and enhance effective teaching and learning. It produces most of the educational materials the Ministry of Education provides to schools and contracts publishing services to other government organisations and commercial companies. The company exports to Asia, Canada, Scandinavia, the UK,the US, and other markets. Alongside its publishing operations, Learning Media designs and delivers professional development programmes for New Zealand and overseas teachers.

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