Berjaya Media posts wider net loss in the second quarter

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Media Bhd, the publisher of theSun newspaper, reported a wider net loss of RM2.57mil in the second quarter ended Oct 31 on the back of declining advertising income.

The group said in a Bursa Malaysia filing that its net loss in the three-month period had increased from a net loss of RM2.54mil in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.

Revenue in the second quarter fell by almost 22% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM6.53mil.

“The drop in revenue for the quarter was mainly due to lower advertising income reported by its principal operating subsidiary, Sun Media Corp Sdn Bhd, as advertisers have shifted their advertising preference to the digital platform.

“The loss from operations of Sun Media has reduced due to effective cost control measures undertaken. However, the pre-tax loss was higher mainly due to consultancy and advisory fees incurred for the corporate exercise relating to the (company) regularisation plan,” said Berjaya Media.

No dividend was announced for the quarter. Loss per share was 1.09 sen.

In the first half of financial year 2019, the group’s net loss widened to RM5.32mil as compared to the net loss of RM4.02mil in the same period a year earlier.

Top line in the first six months dropped by 25% y-o-y to RM13.9mil due to lower revenue contribution from advertisements.

On its prospects, Berjaya Media expects its business for the remain- ing financial period to remain challenging.

“In view of the group’s current financial condition, more marketing efforts are being initiated to improve the group’s financial position and to preserve the shareholders’ equity funds. The board has been exploring other options (including diversifying into new businesses outside the media sector) to strengthen the financial position of the group with the primary objective of regularising its Practice Note 17 condition,” it said.