Many articles today in the international business press about the SEAT Pagine Gialle dividend cut announcement. Obviously, their stock has been badly hit by the news but I found three interesting insights about their future online strategy.

Reuters: “Seat will not pay a dividend this year because, it said, “in the current credit market environment, the company has adopted a financial policy devoting available financial resources to debt repayment and Internet development in Italy.”

Bloomberg: “Majocchi [Seat’s CEO] is focusing on Italy this year, a strategy shift after betting on expansion abroad to lift sales and earnings. Seat is also introducing new products such as Web-based directory services to attract clients.”

The Guardian: “Seat, which has focused on print directories and selling Internet ads as an additional product to its core products, aims to change and sell Internet ads as a stand-alone product.”

What it means: first insight, SEAT has decided it will be investing in its core market instead of internationally to expand revenues. Second, it will be investing heavily in their online products as this is where the growth is coming. Third, it will un-bundle print and online to try to maximize online revenues. With a difficult financial market and possible worldwide economic slowdown, I suspect that this emerging strategy will be replicated in many territories. Focus on core market, invest heavily in online opportunities (new products, new technology development, and acquisitions) and un-bundle the print and online will be key in the next couple of years.