Media Prima posts losses in FY16

Media Prima Hari Raya programmes preview. KCSAHARUL and for Mstar. Rep: Kemalia and Kenneth

KUALA LUMPUR: Media Prima Bhd fell into the red in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 (FY16), as it incurred RM97.9mil from a one-off restructuring exercise and RM43.4mil in start-up costs for new initiatives.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the media company reported a loss of RM59.2mil in FY16 against earnings of RM138.7mil in the preceding year.

Its revenue for the year fell by 10% to RM1.3bil, hit by lower advertising and newspaper sales as traditional media faced ongoing challenges with the shift to digital media.

On the weaker bottom-line results, it said expenses from the restructuring exercise to optimise its print manufacturing operations led the group to incur a loss after tax of RM69.8mil for FY16 versus a RM138.7mil profit in the previous year.

“If the one-off restructuring expenses were excluded, the group posted a PAT of RM28.1mil,” Media Prima said.

Under the exercise, subsidiary The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd will cease the operation of its regional printing plants in Ajil (Terengganu) and Senai (Johor).

The print media segment -- the second biggest revenue contributor -- saw its revenue fall 25% year-on-year. Its total after-tax loss for the year stood at RM124.2mil.

Without the one-off restructuring expenses, the platform recorded a lower loss of RM26.3mil, the company said.

The revenue of Media Prima’s television network segment remained flat compared with the prior year. Its after-tax profit declined 93% to RM5.2mil due to lacklustre free-to-air TV advertising spending and operating costs of new business initiatives. 

In the fourth quarter (Q4), Media Prima reported earnings of RM5.0mil against the RM31.7mil posted a year earlier, while revenue was 13% lower at RM318.6mil.

The board has recommended a final dividend of 4 sen per share for FY16 (FY15: 5 sen), raising the total dividend for the year to 8 sen per share (FY15: 10 sen).