KUALA LUMPUR, 22 August 2019 – Media Prima Berhad (“Media Prima” or the “Group”), Malaysia’s leading fully-integrated media group, announced today its first-half results for the financial period ended 30 June 2019 (“1HFY19”).

Media Prima posted a 1HFY19 revenue of RM535.9 million against RM623.0 million in the comparative period (“1HFY18”) amid challenging economic and operating conditions which impacted the Group as a whole. The Group recorded a loss after tax of RM53.6 million compared to a profit after tax of RM8.7 million in 1HFY18.

Traditional advertising revenue for the six months dropped by 19% against the corresponding period. This decline was partially mitigated by growth in Group commerce revenue led by Media Prima’s home shopping segment. CJ WOW SHOP remains on the upswing with revenue rising 19% to RM114.3 million in 1HFY19 against RM96.0 million in 1HFY18.

Although Group digital revenue for 1HFY19 declined marginally by 3% against the corresponding period, Media Prima remained a strong player in the digital realm following the acquisition of new digital brands and democratisation of its content on digital platforms. The Group continues to rank third in Malaysia, after Google and Facebook, in terms of digital audience reach and has maintained its leadership position for content on mobile devices in Malaysia with 13.5 million monthly unique visitors.

Datuk Syed Hussian Aljunid, Group Chairman of Media Prima, said: “The Group’s first half results reflect the challenges affecting media companies worldwide. Amid unfavourable economic conditions that increasingly affects advertising expenditure, particularly for our traditional businesses, the Group improved its second quarter results against the immediate preceding quarter (“1QFY19”). We are encouraged by the outcome of our efforts and barring unforeseen circumstances, the Group expects to keep this momentum in the remaining quarters of the financial year.”

In the six months under review, Media Prima continued to expand digital and commerce capabilities across all platforms to better capture opportunities and stay ahead of emerging trends. The Group’s out-of-home (“OOH”) advertising segment, represented by Big Tree, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year by promoting multiple sales packages to boost the adoption of integrated OOH to clients. This includes its offline to online OOH solution, Big+, which has successfully secured clients from various industries, such as fashion and apparel, since its launch earlier this year. On the digital front, Big Tree recorded a high occupancy rate of 85% for its digital OOH inventory in 1HFY19. This represents a 5% point increase from 80% in the comparative period.

The New Straits Times Press’ online brands, My Metro, BH Online and NST Online, continue to rank among the top news sites for Malaysians with 10.2 million, 7.4 million and 3.6 million monthly average users respectively. Beyond publishing, BH will be hosting the 32nd edition of its annual people’s choice entertainment awards, Anugerah Bintang Popular BH, on 22 September. This year’s award show, themed ‘Beyond Borders’, introduces two new categories — Popular K-Pop Artiste and Popular Indonesian Artiste — following an increase in online viewership and interest from audiences beyond
Malaysia.

Media Prima Television Networks maintained its dominant broadcast position in Malaysia with a 36.1% total audience share, an increase from 34.7% in the corresponding period. In content creation and distribution, Primeworks Studios expanded its sales into new territories and digital platforms. Primeworks Studios also announced new film releases for this year and 2020 which includes action film Sangkar (to be released on 29 August), Rock 4, Ejen Ali the Movie, and J Retribusi, the sequel of the 2017 hit action film J Revolusi.

Subsequent to the reporting period, Media Prima Digital entered into another partnership with global digital media company, Ziff Davis, to operate IGN Southeast Asia (sea.ign.com) for entertainment and gaming fans in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. IGN is the world’s leading media brand for games, movies, entertainment and fan culture, that reaches a global audience of 196 million users across web, video and social platforms.

The partnership follows a similar agreement in September 2018 between Ziff Davis and REV Asia Holdings for Mashable Southeast Asia (s ea.mashable.com). Media Prima Digital will invest more resources into its games and eSports division and expand this segment regionally through partnerships. The Group believes that advertising revenue will grow rapidly in this segment.

Datuk Kamal Khalid, Group Managing Director of Media Prima, said: “The Group continues to focus on managing costs and has during the first six months reduced operating expenses by 11% against the comparative period. We will continue to identify areas of improvement with a view to become a media organisation better equipped to capitalise on opportunities and confront challenges in the new era dominated by digital.”

END OF PRESS RELEASE

For further information, please contact:
Media Prima Berhad at +603 1300 300 672 (ext. 8949), [email protected] or +603 2724 8949,
Azlan Abdul Aziz at [email protected] or +6012 614 0522

Author: Sophia