GZ Media Turnover Up 5% Over CZK 2.5 Billion in 2017

Lodenice, Central Bohemia, March 29 (CTK) – GZ Media, a world’s leading CD, DVD and vinyl producer, raised its turnover annually by 5 percent to Kc2.58bn in 2017, and it produced 27 million music records, with 24 million being made in the Czech Republic and the rest in the USA and Canada, company CEO Michal Sterba told CTK.

 

“Profit stayed at the previous year’s level, which means our profitability declined,” Sterba said not disclosing any specifics.

 

This year, GZ Media expects similar or slightly better results compared to 2017.

 

The production growth and strong demand are hurt by the Czech crown’s exchange rate and increasing wage costs, Sterba said.

 

Both GZ Media’s plants in North America are stable and profitable. GZ Media plans to increase significantly and continue expanding production and investing in 2018, Sterba said.

 

The company’s production activities in Asia have been halted. However, GZ Media is definitely not leaving the market, currently discussing a key partnership concerning representation in Japan, Sterba said.

 

GZ Media is the world’s number one in vinyl production.

 

It employs nearly 2,000 people in the Czech Republic, 150 in the USA and Canada, and 10 in West Europe.

 

GZ Media’s clientele includes Universal Music, Symantec, a producer of software for security, and Ikea.

 

Apart from music records, it produces packaging for French perfumes and Scotch.

 

The history of GZ Media, formerly Gramofonove zavody Lodenice, dates back to 1951, when the first gramophone record was produced in Lodenice. It produced its first CD in 1988, and the first DVD in Central Europe in 2001.