Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of Leonard Asper’s ascent to the top job at Canwest Global Communications, taking over the reins from his late father Izzy. But there might not be much of a celebration. It hasn’t been an easy ride. When the youngest Asper became president and CEO in 1999, Canwest was trading at close to $20 a share. As of early this week, it was treading water around 60 cents. What was once arguably Canada’s leading media company was kicked off the country’s main market index in September, and is now a struggling penny stock.

Asper himself seems more perplexed than anyone by his company’s rapid decline. After all, as he’s fond of pointing out, Canwest is not only making money, it’s making more money every year. Revenues have increased from $2.7 billion in fiscal 2006, to $2.9 billion in 2007, to $3.1 billion in 2008. Similarly, Canwest’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization)—a popular indicator of a company’s profitability—looks healthy. As of August, the end of Canwest’s latest fiscal year, its EBITDA hit a three-year high of $578 million—$91 million higher than the year before. Canwest’s various holdings, which include Global Television, Network Ten in Australia, various websites and 10 major daily newspapers (including the National Post), are as a whole still making money. And analysts say that from a strategic standpoint, the company’s decision to acquire Alliance Atlantis and its portfolio of top specialty TV channels last year made perfect sense.

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