Novi list exits pre-bankruptcy settlement process

By the decision of the Commercial Court in Rijeka Novi list has formally exited the pre-bankruptcy settlement process.

After Novi list submitted all necessary documentation proving that all claims have been paid to creditors, the decision to delete the record of the opening of the procedure in the court register was made by Ika Mohorović. At the time of approval for the conclusion of the pre-bankruptcy settlement in May 2015, the claims amounted to approximately 43.6 million kuna. 

Shortly thereafter, creditors were presented with a detailed financial restructuring plan for Novi list, and its acceptance marked a new beginning for the company and a step towards stabilization. 

As many as 73.78 percent of creditors assessed that Novi list is a company that can service its current obligations and pay debts to creditors according to the pre-bankruptcy settlement plan from its own operations. This has also been proven in the last five years, and at the end of last year, the last installments from pre-bankruptcy obligations were paid off. 

– The payment of these claims complicated our situation during difficult times of a general decline in the circulation of printed media, further exacerbated by the global pandemic that blocked the entire world in early March 2020.

Despite this, we managed to maintain financial stability, restructure the company, and increase our reach to a much wider circle of readers, both through our constantly growing portal and by acquiring the daily newspaper Zadarski list and the web portal www.zadarskilist.hr in April of this year, said the CEO of Novi list Ankica Kruljac.

She also mentioned that Novi list continued in print without reducing the number of pages despite the reduced number of commercial ads during lockdown. At the same time, several new young people were employed in the editorial office, forming the core of the company and guaranteeing its future. 

– The rise in energy and paper prices forced us to increase the price of newspapers from the beginning of July, much later than other Croatian dailies did, but I believe we justify this new price with quality content, Kruljac said, adding that exiting the pre-bankruptcy process opens the door to numerous projects and the development of Novi list.