KUALA LUMPUR, 23 February 2022 – Media Prima Berhad (“Media Prima” or the “Group”) today posted a profit after tax (“PAT”) of RM51.6 million for the full year ended 31 December 2021 (“FY21”), reversing a loss after tax (“LAT”) of RM18.1 million in the comparative period (“FY20”). This represents the Group’s first full year profit since FY18.
Despite the challenges affecting the media industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Group revenue increased by 8% to RM1.1 billion in FY21 against RM1.0 billion in FY20, backed by stronger advertising revenue supported by the Group’s sales arm, Media Prima Omnia (“Omnia”).
In less than two years since its establishment, Omnia has become an unrivalled leader in the marketplace having successfully integrated Media Prima’s multiple platforms to reach over 98% of the Malaysian population to provide clients with unique and holistic sales solutions. Omnia has collaborated with global brands including Samsung, Lazada, Shopee, Foodpanda and Disney+ Hotstar. Its strong track record, together with the reopening of the economy, have reinvigorated the Group’s advertising revenue which increased by 16% in FY21 against the previous year.
The Group’s stronger advertising revenue is backed by its broadcasting business which posted a 38% revenue growth against the previous year. Content sales revenue tripled in FY21 against the previous year, underscoring the successful execution of our content distribution and programming strategy. As one of Malaysia’s largest content houses, Media Prima is poised to be the most strategic partner for existing and new over-the-top media players in the local market.
Media Prima remained Malaysia’s leading digital publisher for mobile audiences, having captured 15.9 million unique visitors in December FY21. Its digital business, driven by REV Media Group, posted a 10% revenue growth in FY21 against the previous year, backed by stronger advertising revenue.
The Group’s publishing business, the New Straits Times Press (“NSTP”) returned to black, posting a FY21 profit as a result of its more optimal cost structure and growth in newspaper printing and distribution revenue of more than 20% in FY21 against the corresponding period. NSTP’s online news portals myMetro (hmetro.com.my) and BH Online (bharian.com.my) ranked as the most read online news portals in Malaysia with 8.0 million and 7.4 million total average unique visitors respectively.
Other businesses within the Group remained resilient. In commerce, WOWSHOP posted another profitable year despite the increase in in-store shopping options following the lifting of movement restrictions. Moving forward, WOWSHOP will continue to defend its position as a leading commerce network amid intensified competition by leveraging the popularity and reach of Media Prima’s television brands, strengthening its e-commerce platform and improving its content variety and quality.
The Group’s out-of-home business, Big Tree, was impacted by the challenges due to the Movement Control Order last year, and proactively undertook a rationalisation exercise to review non-performing sites which resulted in one-off impairments. Big Tree will focus on sites with high demand and great demographic profiling to maintain its competitive advantage as a leading out-of-home advertising solutions provider in Malaysia.
Media Prima also announced results for the three months ended 31 December 2021 (“4QFY21”). The Group’s PAT increased by 53% in 4QFY21 against the corresponding quarter (“4QFY20”). This is the Group’s strongest earnings performance (excluding exceptional items in the past years as recorded in FY18) since the fourth quarter of FY15. Media Prima also remained as a constituent of the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index Series following its December 2021 review. This is testament to our commitment to ensuring strong Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) practises across the Group.
Datuk Seri (Dr) Syed Hussian Aljunid, Group Chairman of Media Prima, said: “FY21 was an outstanding year for us at Media Prima. We are extremely proud of the progress we made as we exceeded many of our FY21 targets ahead of schedule. Despite the challenges affecting the media industry, magnified by the Covid-19 pandemic, our advertising revenue increased from last year led by our effective sales team under Omnia. Our digital and commerce segments remained strong against greater competition and fast-changing media trends. All this fuels our confidence in Media Prima’s future and establishes a much needed foundation to grow. We will challenge ourselves to go further in view of more economic sectors reopening in 2022, which gives us the potential to do so much more for our audiences and advertisers.”
Rafiq Razali, Group Managing Director of Media Prima, said: “What went from a really challenging year turned into one of our best performances in the last six years. We posted our first full year profit since FY15 with the exception of FY18 which recorded a one-off gain from the sale of the Group’s property assets. Our 4QFY21 results not only represent our sixth consecutive quarterly profit, but also our best quarterly normalised PAT since 4QFY15. On top of this, we remained Malaysia’s number one choice for mobile content against bigger competitors. We are also pleased to see signs of recovery for our publishing business which is seeing an improvement in printing and distribution revenue. This is a huge achievement for us and we are extremely proud of the hard work of our team.”
Media Prima’s Board of Directors declared a first and final dividend of 1.5 sen per ordinary share for FY21.
Moving forward, Media Prima will focus on sustaining this momentum by accelerating revenue-generating initiatives for our advertising, digital and commerce businesses. The Group will continue to look out for more strategic collaborations to grow further, while elevating its competitive advantage.
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For further information, kindly contact: Media Prima Berhad at [email protected]; Sharifah Nur Adibah Syed Tahir at [email protected] or +6019 220 2291 or Siti Sophia at [email protected] or +6016 631 2874