The resignation of APN News & Media’s chief financial officer has prompted a sharp decline in the struggling newspaper publisher and radio station owner’s share price.

APN said on Friday Peter Myers would step down on September 21 after 10 years in the role.

The market reacted savagely to the news, with APN shares down 17.95 per cent, or seven cents, at 32 cents at 1411 AEST.

In percentage terms it was the largest decline among all stocks on the S&P/ASX200.

The company said Mr Myers was leaving to pursue other interests and it was in the process of finding a permanent replacement.

In the meantime, APN said its chief financial controller Jeff Howard would assume Mr Myers’ responsibilities.

The company only just recently replaced its chairman, with Peter Hunt, the founder of corporate advisory firm Greenhill Caliburn, taking his seat on the board after Gavin O’Reilly stepped down in April.

Newspaper publishers in Australia and globally have been hit hard in recent times, due to weak advertising markets, declining circulation and the migration of advertising from physical mastheads to websites, viewed online, on mobile and on tablet devices.

APN’s more recent financial results, released earlier in August, showed the company posted a $319.4 million loss in the six months to June 30, 2012.

It’s publishing business was the main cause of the disappointing result, with earnings in New Zealand and Australia down 20 per cent and nine per cent, respectively.

The company wrote down the value of its New Zealand publishing business by $485 million.

Apart from its stable of newspaper mastheads on both sids of the Tasman, APN also owns radio stations and outdoor advertising businesses.