NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 20 – Nation Media Group’s half-year profit has dropped by 13.1 per cent to Sh247.28 million from Sh285.2 million in the first half of 2021 amid a global rise in news printing costs.
Even so, the group’s sales were essentially unchanged shrinking by 0.6 per cent year-over-year to Sh. 3.6959 billion from 3.720 billion in the first half of the 2021 financial year.
The group’s management attributed the steady turnover to growth in the broadcast business, increased revenue from digital products and services and growth of niche in their print products amidst the higher costs of newsprints which weakened the gains.
The digital footprint grew to 52.2 million users during the period compared to 44.9 million in 1H21.
The total group’s operating cost dropped by 4.7 per cent to Sh. 2.7 billion from Sh. 2.8 billion during the same period in the previous year.
This was attributed to the cost management inputs the group employed during the Covid-19 pandemic period.
The group also recorded a 21.4 per cent year-over-year decline in Earning Per Share (EPS) during the first half of the financial year 2022.
The EPS declined to Sh. 1.10 from Sh. 1.40 during the same period last year attributed to the higher sales cost.
The cost of sales went up to Sh. 683.2 million from Sh. 520.5 million during the same period in the previous financial year.
Gross profit margin narrowed by 4.5 per cent points to 81.5 per cent from 86.0 per cent in the previous year due to the increase in the cost of sales affected by the global rise of newsprint prices and the depreciation of the Kenyan Shilling against the dollar.
Despite the challenges experienced, the group remained optimistic to recover in the remaining half of the year.
“We expect better performance in the second half on improvement of the global business environment and potential uptick in business activity in Kenya post-election; the favourable operating environment in the rest of East Africa will likely prevail,” said management.
Even though no interim dividend was declared, Nation Media management noted it would continue focusing on product innovation across its channels and platforms to drive audience acquisition, engagement and optimal monetization of its expansive digital footprint.
