KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Media Bhd (BMedia), the publisher of theSun newspaper, swung to a net loss of RM27.93 million, or 11.88 sen loss per share, in the fourth quarter ended April of financial year 2015 (4QFY15) compared with a net profit of RM128,000 or 0.05 sen earnings per share a year ago, on impairment charges.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, BMedia said its bottom line was hit by the impairment of publishing rights amounting to RM25 million and impairment of certain quoted investments, coupled with lower revenue.

Revenue for 4QFY15 fell 14.2% to RM11.22 million from RM13.08 million a year ago, mainly due to lower advertising income recorded by its principal operating subsidiary, Sun Media Corp Sdn Bhd.

The weak quarterly results dragged BMedia into a net loss of RM31.16 million or 13.25 sen loss per share for the full FY15 from a net profit of RM4.09 million or 1.75 sen earnings per share in FY14.

Revenue for FY15 was RM53.83 million, representing an 8.33% decline from RM58.72 million in FY14.

On future prospects, the media group said it continues to operate in a competitive business environment and will continue to focus on improving its advertising revenue. 

BMedia (fundamental: 1.65; valuation: 0.9) shares were not traded yesterday. They last closed at 37 sen per share for a market capitalisation of RM86.98 million.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 23, 2015.