KUALA LUMPUR: Media Prima Bhd says its performance in the fourth quarter ended December 31 2019 has put it in a stronger position to enter the next phase of its business transformation efforts.
Group chairman Datuk (Dr) Syed Hussian Aljunid said it would continue to expand its digital presence while executing new business opportunities that leverages its existing assets.
Syed Hussian also said Media Prima had concluded the first phase of its transformation plan, Odyssey, that started in 2016.
The group posted a five per cent increase in revenue to RM304.6 million in the fourth quarter against RM290.9 million a year ago.
Media Prima said it would have posted a net profit of RM9.7 million during the quarter versus a net loss of RM38.5 million in 4QFY18 if exceptional items reported in both quarters were excluded,
The exceptional items included the execution of an internal restructuring exercise in 4QFY19, and a one-off gain from a sale and leaseback arrangement in 2018.
For the full-year, the group posted a net loss of RM177.85 million versus the RM58.62 million net profit a year ago.
Group revenue stood at RM1.11 billion against RM1.18 billion previously.
For the fourth quarter, the group’s net loss stood at RM104.46 million from the net profit of RM79.20 million last year.
“Economic and industry challenges continued to weigh down on the group’s full-year financial performance in 2019,” it said.
The group said its home shopping and digital media businesses continued their revenue growth to partially mitigate the overall decline.
It said one of its key achievements last year was the record-breaking success of Ejen Ali.
“The hugely popular animated television series made its debut on the silver screens and earned RM30.8 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing Malaysian film in 2019, as well as the highest-grossing local animated film and third highest-grossing Malaysian film to date,” it added.
Media Prima said the continued decline in the adex market had affected its overall performance.
“The group is undergoing internal reorganisation which will be able to optimise its way of working in order to ensure that it is better placed to meet the ever evolving consumer needs and deliver savings that can be reinvested into accelerating new growth.
“For FY2020, the group envisages the operating environment to continue to be challenging. The digital disruption will continue to affect traditional media business, but the group is better prepared now with its stronger presence in the digital sphere through its digital assets acquired and internally grown since 2016.
“The current global economic uncertainty and the Covid-19 outbreak will delay the recovery of the group but we are diligently working at new business opportunities leveraging on its existing assets and reach to meet stakeholder’s expectation for a resilient result for FY2020,” it said.
Syed Hussain said: “As an integrated media group, we will continuously innovate to serve the evolving needs of our audiences and advertisers. This includes expanding its digital presence while executing new business opportunities that leverages its existing assets.
“Meanwhile, we remain focused on honing our competitive advantages while keeping a close watch on operational efficiencies.”
Media Prima group managing director Datuk Kamal Khalid said its significant investments in transformation plan Odyssey had put it on a stronger foundation to compete in the fast-evolving digitally-driven media environment.
“As we move forward into the next decade, we will embark on the next phase of our business transformation that promises to continue delivering the best for our audience, advertisers and partners,” Kamal added.
Media Prima believes that Odyssey had provided the necessary foundation for corporate recovery in the future as these initiatives had contributed greater revenue year-on-year.
“ In 2019, Odyssey revenue reached RM318.0 million, contributing to 29 per cent of the group’s total revenue compared to RM176.4 million or 15 per cent of total revenue in 2017,” it said.