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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): Media Chinese International Ltd’s (MCIL) second quarter net profit dropped 34.4% to RM14.25 million, from RM21.72 million a year back, as revenue declined amid challenging market conditions.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing, MCIL said topline for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 came in at RM337.23 million, down 6.5% compared with RM360.83 million previously, mainly due to a decrease in the turnover of the publishing and printing business, especially for the Malaysia and Southeast Asia segments.
However, the decline in the quarterly revenue was partially offset by a 6.4% increase in the turnover of the travel segment, which totalled US$27.23 million, thanks to the growth in outbound travel business for the North America tour operations, as outbound travel became relatively cheaper with the stronger US and Canadian dollars.
MCIL declared a first interim dividend of 0.25 US cents (about 1.074 sen) for the year ending March 31, 2018, payable on Dec 29.
The group said cumulative net profit for the first half of FY18 (1HFY18) fell 43.7% to RM24.17 million, from RM42.93 million a year earlier, while revenue dropped 8.7% to RM648.68 million from RM710.36 million.
MCIL said both the ringgit and Canadian dollar weakened against the US dollar during the first half, resulting in negative currency impacts on the group’s operating results for the period.
It said excluding the currency impact, the decline in the group’s turnover and pre-tax profit would have been about 6% and 33.3% respectively.
Moving forward, MCIL’s group chief executing officer Francis Tiong said market conditions in the second half of FY18 are expected to remain challenging for the group, particularly for the print media, with advertising spending remaining slow given the still weak consumer spending and the continuing shifting of print advertising dollars to big digital and social media players such as Google and Facebook.
“In addition, newsprint price has started showing signs of an upward trend which will further put pressure on the group’s performance,” Tiong said in a separate statement.
“Nevertheless, the group will continue its efforts in developing innovative marketing packages integrating its print and digital businesses, enhancing its digital infrastructure, building its digital content and ensuring that its products and content stay competitive and relevant to its readers,” he added.
MCIL’s share price closed 0.5 sen or 1.2% lower at 41.5 sen, valuing the group at RM700.2 million.
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