Media Prima narrows net loss to RM22mil in Q1

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

It said the group was, however, still affected by the weaker free-toair (FTA) television network and print media businesses.

Revenue, meanwhile, 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, a lower advertising expenditure (adex) take-up in the FTA television segment had led to the decrease in revenue of 14%.

However, the challenging operating environment resulted in a loss of RM34.7mil against RM23mil in the previous corresponding quarter.

Commenting on the print media under the New Straits Times Press, revenue dipped 1% mainly due to lower newspaper sales by 24%. It was offset by the higher first-quarter 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 a 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 enabled the profit after tax to increase by RM3.7mil.

The digital media reported a 98% increase in revenue contributed mainly by the 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 a revenue growth of RM16.4mil, reflecting strong momentum for this segment.