In my understanding, there was a reduction (a write-off) in the goodwill in previous year's account, but this probably is not an "extra amortisation charge" on the goodwill. More likely is a situation that say, with an acquisition, some goodwill was created (=the price paid was higher than the net asset value of the target company and this appears in the balance sheet as "goodwill"). After that, say, half of that company was sold and, as a consequence, the goodwill shall be reduced.

Also, it might be connected with a change in the respective regulation:

"Under the FASB regulations (Financial Accounting Statement 141, Business Combinations, and FAS 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets), companies are required to stop amortizing goodwill at the start of their fiscal year and perform instead a complex impairment test. Challenges include identifying reporting units and determining their fair value, as well as valuing certain intangibles separate from goodwill."

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Note added at 2002-03-31 16:51:34 (GMT)
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I think the message of this sentence is that the negative effect already appeared in the financial accounts for the previous year and no further bad news shall be expected in the current business year, at least, not in this line.