On a quarterly basis, the group’s revenue has dropped by 17% to RM210.8 million while its PAT decreased by 80%, mainly attributed to lower advertising revenue.
In August 2022, the group had modified its financial reporting period to end on June 30 instead of Dec 31. This means that its next audited financial statements will comprise 18 months of reporting from Jan 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
Thereafter, its financial year end shall be on June 30 for each subsequent year.
In its bourse filing with Bursa Malaysia, Media Prima said that its revenue was affected by soft advertising market conditions, as well as intense competition in the commerce segment following the economy’s reopening in April 2022.
“Nonetheless, this was cushioned by non-advertising income and continuous cost optimisation initiatives, and other operating income,” said group chairman Syed Hussian Aljunid.
However, he said Media Prima is confident in its ability to weather these uncertainties through its current strategies.
All segments affected
Lower advertising revenue has negatively impacted Media Prima across its various business segments.
Its digital media arm experienced a 28% decrease in revenue quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) primarily due to lower advertising revenue.
Meanwhile, its marketing solutions arm Omnia registered a 20% q-o-q decrease in revenue, which the group explained was due to the higher comparison base in the previous quarter. The end of the calendar year is cyclically the stronger period for advertising spending.
Quarterly revenue drops were also witnessed in the group’s out-of-home segment (13%), broadcasting (16%) and publishing (18%).
Curiously, its home shopping segment only saw a 8% decrease in revenue despite the elevated inflationary pressures and strong competition by e-commerce and social commerce platforms.
Challenging year ahead
The group recognises that the upcoming months in 2023 will remain challenging as intense competition for audience share across conventional and digital media landscape will have an impact on advertising expenditures.
“(Advertising expenditure) is already affected by inflationary pressures, increased interest rates and other economic uncertainties,” Media Prima group managing director Rafiq Razali added.
“We will continue to defend our leadership positions by providing compelling content for audiences across our media platforms, concurrent with offering premium advertising inventory for advertisers,” he added.
Moving forward, Media Prima said it will look into monetising its large content library and dedicated audience base through its video streaming service, Tonton, which had undergone a strategic reboot aimed to capitalise on consumers’ strong demand for local content.
The group added that it is committed to advancing its strategic three-year business plan which is to enhance content, elevate inventory quality and to explore new revenue opportunities.
It plans to harness its technological expertise, valuable data insights, and talented workforce to gain a competitive advantage to attract prestigious clients and projects, and foster income diversification.
As at 4.52pm, the group’s share price was down 1 sen or 2.35% at 42 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM460.32 million.