Star Media posts lower Q1 profit

KUALA LUMPUR: Star Media Group Bhd’s first-quarter profit for the period ended March 31 plunged 68.6 per cent to RM3.54 million from RM11.3 million recorded in the same period last year, dragged by lower sales at its print and radio segments.

According to its filing with Bursa Malaysia, revenue fell 24.3 per cent to RM82.56 million from RM109.03 million previously.

On a brighter side, thanks to better cost management, the media group returned to the black in the first quarter from a RM9.06 million loss in last year’s final quarter that was due to payouts for the mutual separation scheme/early retirement (MSS/ERO) option.

In the first quarter, the print and digital segment’s pre-tax profit fell 78.5 per cent to RM3.65 million, from RM16.96 million previously, on lower revenue as a result of poor market sentiment.

The radio broadcasting segment recorded a pre-tax loss of RM90,000 and revenue of RM5.38 million, compared with a pre-tax profit of RM1.56 million and revenue of RM8.24 million last year.

The event and exhibition segment also saw its pre-tax profit and revenue fall to RM1.62 million and RM5.28 million in the first quarter of this year from RM2.69 million and RM6.01 million, respectively, in the same period last year. This was due to fewer events held during the period.

Star Media expects advertising expenditure to be soft and remain challenging due to continued weak sentiment.

“However, we expect the print and digital segment to perform satisfactorily this year as a result of better cost management following the MSS/ERO exercise.