Ad spend slides at The Star as print and radio revenue dips

Star Media Group posted a revenue of RM82.57 million during the first quarter of 2019 (Q1 2019), a dip from its RM109.1 million last year.

Meanwhile, its profit before tax for Q1 2019 dropped from RM17.59 million last year to RM5.71 million due to lower revenue from its print and radio segments.

According to the financial statement, Star Media Group’s print and digital segment posted a profit before tax of RM3.65 million in Q1 2019 as compared to RM16.96 million last year.

Its radio segment generated a revenue of RM5.38 million in Q1 2019 as compared to RM8.24 million during the same period last year, despite the slowdown in ad spending.

Meanwhile, revenue for its event and exhibition segment declined to RM5.28 million from RM6.01 million due to lesser events held in Q1 2019 as compared to Q1 2018.

This segment saw a profit before tax of RM1.62 million in Q1 2019, compared to RM2.69 million last year.

Star Media Group said in its financial statement that while ad expenditure is expected to be “soft” and remain challenging due to weak sentiments, it expects the print and digital segments to “perform satisfactorily” in 2019 as a result of better cost management following the mutual separation scheme and early retirement option exercise.

“We also expect robust revenue growth from the digital segment as more advertisers migrate into this space.

“We would also be driving new revenue streams beyond print. We will continue to focus on using new technologies and analytics to improve, deepen and predict how our customers consume content with the end goal of increasing engagement and monetisation,” the group added in its financial statement.

Going forward, the group will continue to focus on the Chinese and Malay audience.

It is also expecting to grow its dimsum segment, a subscription based video streaming service that is currently accessible via mobile, Chromecast, Apple Airplay, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV.

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