16 Jun 2012

Speculation that more Fairfax shares bought by Rinehart

9:51 am on 16 June 2012

There is speculation that mining magnate Gina Rinehart has again increased her stake in Fairfax Media.

Ms Rinehart is reported to have raised her stake in the media group to more than 18% after a trade involving nearly 70 million shares took place after the market closed on Friday.

Ms Rinehart recently confirmed she owned more than 13% of the company, making her the largest single investor.

Some 2% of company shares were traded in a transaction on Thursday.

The ABC reports Fairfax shares rose 1% to nearly 61 cents on Friday.

On Tuesday Fairfax again lowered its profit forecast due to a weak advertising market.

The company said it expects half-year profits to fall 8% and full-year earnings before tax to drop nearly 18% to around $A500 million.