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PETALING JAYA: Star Media Group Bhd
registered higher pre-tax profit in the third quarter against the immediate preceding quarter as it realised better cost management following its transformation exercise.
A 17% jump in the group’s digital advertising revenue also helped to offset lower revenue generated in the print business resulting from the slowing economy.
The media group, which is undergoing a transformation into a digital focused media group, recorded a pre-tax profit of RM2.45mil in the third quarter, which is higher compared to RM2.25mil posted in the previous quarter.
The higher profit comes despite the cost incurred from a retrenchment exercise following the shutdown of the group’s Penang plant.
Revenue for the third quarter decreased to RM91.12mil from RM99.49mil in the second quarter of 2018.
Over the nine months to Sept 30, pre-tax profit increased 8.2% to RM22.29mil from the same period in 2017. This excludes the RM206.86mil one-off gain on disposal of Cityneon in the previous year.
According to a filing with the stock exchange, the group benefited from better cost management over the current period under review following the Mutual Separation Scheme/Early Retirement Option.
On a segmental basis, the print and digital business posted a lower pre-tax profit of RM21.07mil versus RM31.56mil in the same period last year due to losses in the group’s OTT venture, dimsum.my.
The radio business also experienced a slowdown in advertising revenue to RM21.84mil from RM26.46mil in 9M17. However, the segment managed to generate a pre-tax profit of RM1.05mil over the period.
The group’s events and exhibition arm saw a jump in revenue to RM12.14mil from RM6.89mil previously due to more events held in 2018 so far. Pre-tax profit rose from the higher revenue and better cost management to RM2.17mil, versus a loss of RM380,000 in the same period last year.
Looking forward, the group expects the print and digital segment to perform better in 2018 versus 2017 due to better cost management.
“Our transformation and rationalisation initiatives have resulted in driving down operating cost.
“The financial results for the nine months of 2018 reflects the efforts put in by the management in transforming the Company to be lean and agile,” it said in the filing.
Meanwhile, the group continues to pursue a digital sector focused approach to its investments while considering investment opportunities in non-core businesses that hold potential for group performance.
The group made further progress with dimsum, which delivers exclusive Asian content, by increasing its accessibility through mobile devices, Chromecast, Apple Airplay, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV.
“The payment options have also extended to include mobile payments via integration with all major telcos in Malaysia,” the group said.
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