Grammy, RS in Q1 rebound
Entertainment rivals make adjustments
Two entertainment companies, GMM Grammy Plc and RS, returned to profit in the first quarter of the year after adjusting their business strategies.
SET-listed GMM Grammy, the country’s biggest entertainment company, posted a small net profit of 3.6 million baht in the first quarter, compared with a loss of 144 million baht in the same period of 2016.
The company suffered huge losses for four straight years after a massive investment in the digital TV business.
Grammy’s revenue was 2.06 billion baht, up 3.6% year-on-year. Music remained the core revenue contributor, representing 43% of the total.
The first-quarter result was considered a sign of business improvement, which is expected to continue for the rest of 2017, said Karnsuda Sansuthi, Grammy’s chief financial officer.
But the digital TV operation is still unprofitable because of the massive expense for digital TV licence fees to be paid to the broadcasting regulator in the remaining years.
Grammy runs two digital TV channels, One 31 and GMM 25.
Grammy said music is still the core business and the company is adapting to the online trend with engagement on multimedia platforms such as YouTube and music streaming apps.
The company plans to partner with domestic and international entertainment companies to expand the showbiz, concert and merchandise segments for the rest of this year.
RS Plc, Grammy’s arch rival, returned to a profit of 47 million baht in the first quarter after a loss of 102 million baht for all of last year.
First-quarter revenue stood at 752 million baht, down 36.7% year-on-year but up nearly 70% quarter-on-quarter.
RS chief financial officer Darm Nana said first-quarter profit came mainly from expansion of the Lifestar health and beauty business.
Lifestar has become the company’s main business. RS is adapting to become a consumer goods and retail business with support from the media side.
The strength of RS is that customers can use RS’s own media platforms for marketing and distribution, Mr Darm said.
“RS is on the right path and will reach its revenue goal of 3.5 billion baht by the end of the year,” he said.
The company recently joined forces with new partners to sell more products on its telesales channels and make Lifestar the main revenue contributor of the company.
Mr Darm said Channel 8 also performed well in the first quarter, thanks to new content and new partnerships with long-term advertising contracts.
GRAMMY shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 10.80 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 934,000 baht.
RS shares closed at 9.05 baht, up 20 satang, in trade worth 6.6 million baht.