Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25): Media Chinese International Ltd (MCIL) posted a lower net profit of RM33.46 million or 1.98 sen per share in the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (2QFY16), a decline of 24.14% from RM44.11 million or 2.59 sen per share a year ago, mainly due to negative currency impact and lower revenue from the publishing and printing segment.

Revenue fell 20.03% to RM427.71 million from RM534.81 million in 2QFY14.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia today, MCIL said the operating environment remained challenging for the group during the current quarter amid the soft advertising market and weak consumer sentiment in all its publishing segments.

The country's largest Chinese-language media group also said currency volatility continued to pose significant negative impact on the group's performance.

In a separate filing today, MCIL has proposed an interim dividend of 1.93 sen per share (or US$0.5 cents) for the financial year ending Mar 31, 2016 (FY16) payable on Dec 23. The ex-date and entitlement date fall on Dec 8 and Dec 10 respectively.

Meanwhile, for the six-month period (1HFY16), MCIL's net profit declined 10.21% to RM72.32 million or 4.31 sen per share from RM80.54 million or 4.79 sen per share in 1HFY15, due to weak market conditions and significant negative currency impact.

Revenue fell 16.81% to RM867.14 million from RM1.04 billion in 1HFY15.

As at Sept 30, 2015, the group's cash and cash equivalents amounted to US$125.57 million, an increase of 5.8% since Mar 31, 2015, resulting in the net gearing ratio being reduced from 5.9% to nil.

Looking ahead to the second half of the current financial year, MCIL's group chief executive officer Francis Tiong said, "With the outlook for global economic activities remaining uncertain and the continued volatility in the currency market, we foresee another challenging half-year ahead for FY16."

He said the publishing and printing segment will continue to face revenue pressure from a cautious advertising spending environment as well as increased competitive pressures from other media.

"Although newsprint prices are expected to remain stable in the second half of FY16, we remain cautious as the ongoing appreciation of the US dollar could have negative impact on the group's cost base and profitability.

"On a positive note for the group's operations in North America, it is expected that the operating environment may improve in the 2HFY16 in light of the recent improving US economy," he said.

"Notwithstanding the difficult business environment ahead, the group will continue to reinforce sustainable cost reduction strategies while at the same time improve operating efficiencies as well as overall profitability," Tiong concluded.

MCIL shares closed 0.5 sen or 0.83% at 61 sen today, for a market capitalisation of RM1.03 billion.

MCIL is dual-listed on Bursa and Hong Kong Exchange.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)

 

      Print
      Text Size
      Share