KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): Shares of Media Prima Berhad dipped 1.20% this morning after analysts painted a gloomier outlook for the stock.

As at 9.46am, Media Prima fell two sen to RM1.65 with 221,300 shares done.

Public Bank Investment Research has maintained its “Neutral” call on Media Prima Berhad, with a lower target price of RM1.73 (from RM1.79) after Media Prima reported revenue of RM329.4 million (down 6.2% year-on-year) for 1Q15, accounting for 21.3% and 20.6% of the research house's and consensus estimates respectively, driven by continuous market uncertainties and cautious consumer sentiment following the recent implementation of the Goods and Services Tax.

“We expect the cautious consumer sentiment in the first quarter to drag into the next before slowly normalising in the third quarter as consumers would have gradually adjusted to GST by then, and consumers’ spending picking up due to festive seasons.”

Media Prima’s revenue was dragged down by lower advertising and circulation revenue, which dropped by 7% and 11% y-o-y.

“As management expects another challenging year in 2015, we are lowering out earnings forecast by about 10-11% for FY15-17 mainly on assumption of lower adex across TV and print platforms.”

Meanwhile, AmResearch Sdn Bhd maintained its “Hold” rating on Media Prima, with a lower fair value of RM1.70 (from RM1.80).

“Going forward, we expect the outlook for Media Prima’s to remain muted given the weak consumer sentiment post-GST implementation and market uncertainties.”