 ChAIRMAn’s REPoRt 4 CHAIRMAN’s REPORT Important milestones for Fairfax Media’s future were achieved  during the 2013 financial year, a year in which structural changes  in the media industry continued to unfold. Responding to these  changes has been, and will continue to be, our greatest priority.  Our challenge is to develop strategies that position our Company to  continually adapt to a world where the direction of change is clear,  but the end point is not.  In the 2012 Annual Report I set out a number of the elements that would  contribute to our transformation. In 2013, we made substantial progress in  delivering the benefits of the Fairfax of the Future program. Earnings before  interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) will benefit from the  $311 million of annualised cost savings that we are on track to deliver by  2015, including the additional cost savings announced in June. We continue  to work on further cost reduction and revenue opportunities. While the 2013 result reflected continued cyclical weakness and structural  change in the advertising sector, it also incorporated the first material  contribution from the implementation of these initiatives. Without Fairfax  of the Future, the EBITDA recorded by our businesses of $366 million  would have been $118 million lower.  Total Group revenue declined 8.2 per cent to $2,033.8 million from the  prior year and the Company reported a net loss after tax of $16.4 million.  The result included a gain of $303 million on the sale of Trade Me and  US Agricultural businesses in the first half, and a non-cash impairment  charge of $444.6 million predominantly from the Regional, Printing and  Agricultural operations in the second half. This charge was necessary  as our Regional and Agricultural business experienced weaker trading  conditions during the year due to subdued mining-exposed markets,  poor mining employment trends, and a downturn in national advertising.  However, it is important to stress that there has been no deterioration in  our mastheads’ local reach, which underpins the resilience of this business.  Our mastheads remain highly valued by our audiences and advertisers  in the communities we serve. Following the write-down, the Company has net assets in excess  of $1.8 billion.  Significant milestones were  achie ved during the year  that contributed to our  objective of simplifying our  business and reducing the  costs of our business.