Media Prima narrows net losses to RM21.8m in Q1

KUALA LUMPUR: Media Prima Bhd narrowed the net loss to RM21.82mil in the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 from RM38.46mil a year ago due to higher revenue for digital advertising, content and commerce revenue.

It said on Thursday the group was however still affected by the weaker free-to-air television network and print media businesses.

It said revenue rose 3.1% to RM280.66mil from RM272.20mil a year ago. Loss per share was reduced to 1.97 sen from 3.47 sen.

Media Prima said for its television networks, there was lower advertising expenditure (adex) take up in the free-to-air (FTA) television segment had led to the decrease in revenue of 14%. 

However, the challenging operating environment resulted a loss of RM34.7mil against RM23mil for 1QFY17. 

Commenting on the print media under the New Straits Times Press (NSTP), revenue dipped 1% mainly due to lower newspaper sales by 24%. It was offset by the higher 1QFY18 newspaper advertising and digital revenue. 

Loss after tax narrowed by RM14.8mil or 87% on-year mainly due to lower production cost and administrative expenses. 

As for the out-of-home segement, revenue rose by 4% due to higher yield from digital sites. However, profit after tax dipped to RM4.5mil mainly due to higher site and authority fees. 

Media Prima said the revenue from radio networks rose by 20% on-year and enable the profit after tax to increase by RM3.7mil. 

The digital media reported a 98% increase in revenue contributed mainly by digital advertising revenue of Rev Asia. 

Its content creation's revenue fell by 6% but the decline was mitigated by lower content production cost. The platform recorded a profit of RM6.3mil mainly due to lower administrative expenses. 

The home shopping segment recorded revenue growth of RM16.4mil, reflecting strong momentum for this segment.