Media Prima Q2 falls deeper into the red

PETALING JAYA : Media Prima Bhd fell deeper into the red for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017, on an impairment of investment in an associate to the tune of RM142.43 million.
The group registered a net loss of RM132.91 million for the quarter, compared with a net profit of RM27.92 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.
This was on an almost 6% drop in revenue to RM328.77 million for the quarter under review, from RM349.55 million for the same quarter in the preceding year.
The group's board of directors said the second half of the year is expected to remain challenging as advertising expenditure and media consumption continues to shift towards digital. While the group's venture in digital and consumer business has seen encouraging growth, it has yet to contribute substantially to the group and is expected to remain in gestation period for 2017.
It added that it is committed to defending traditional revenue sources and increasing efforts in growing new revenue streams. The foundation
for these efforts are placed on several key areas which include market leadership in broadcast, over-the-top content and digital publishing.
At the same time, the group is also focused in growing commerce revenue through integrated media and expansion beyond Malaysia. Concurrently,
continuous cost management by maximising existing value chain and increasing productivity and efficiency will still be a priority whilst exercising prudent financial and risk management.
Net loss for the six month period stood at RM171.37 million, compared with RM45.16 million for the same period in 2016. This was on a 8% fall in revenue to RM600.97 million, compared with RM653.61 million for the same period in 2016.