Fairfax Media is making up for 'lost years' of corporate stagnancy by heavily pursuing takeovers in the last 18 months, chairman Ron Walker has said, announcing a 9.9 percent comparable profit increase to $251.1 million for the year through June 30.

However, the result, described as “satisfactory” by the media group, did not excite investors, The Age, which is owned by Fairfax, reported Friday.

Although the shares were strong in the first hour, they fell sharply and closed at 2 percent lower, at $4.72, even though they had a 2.5 percent jump in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index, according The Age. Fairfax Media's merger with Rural Press, which was completed in May, makes it difficult to compare the underlying profit with last year's results, said Fraser McLeish, ABN Amro media analyst.

Over the past 18 months, the media group's chief executive, David Kirk, has gotten the board's approval to spend $1.24 billion on three acquisitions, classified Web site Trade Me, the rural publisher Border Morning Mail and radio network Southern Cross Broadcasting, as well as the $9 billion merger with Rural Press, The Age reported.