Star Media Group 2Q revenue increases 8%

PETALING JAYA: For the second quarter of this financial year (2Q23), Star Media Group Bhd (SMG) recorded an increase in revenue of 8% compared with 2Q22.

The group registered a profit before tax of RM1.2mil for the quarter compared with RM2.1mil in 2Q22.

The 2Q23 revenue was 12% higher compared with RM52mil in 1Q23 with the increase in revenue arising from its print, digital and events business, as well as its property development and investment arm.

On its prospects, SMG said it continues to increase its range of products such as the Bahasa Malaysia print publication, Majoriti 7, launched in 2022 and the recent introduction of its weekly business print publication, Star Biz7.

Its print, digital and events business posted a 7% increase in revenue in 2Q23 compared with 2Q22. This segment recorded a pre-tax profit of RM0.1mil in 2Q23 compared to a pre-tax profit of RM0.4mil in 2Q22 due to an increase in newsprint costs.

Its radio broadcasting arm generated a lower revenue of 15% amounting to RM7.3mil in 2Q23 compared with RM8.6mil in 2Q22. This segment recorded a pre-tax profit of RM0.4mil compared with a pre-tax profit of RM2.7mil in 2Q22, which SMG said was affected by seasonality factors which lowered the revenue contribution of commercial airtime.

Its property development and investment arm generated revenue of RM2.9mil in 2Q23 compared with RM0.7mil in 2Q22 due to the launch of the Star Business Hub project. The segment recorded a pre-tax profit of RM0.4mil in 2Q23 compared with a pre-tax loss of RM1.1mil in 2Q22.

For the first half of this financial year (1H23), SMG said its revenue increased by 3% to RM110mil with its print, digital and events business contributing RM90.9mil compared with RM88.1mil in 1H22. The increase was contributed by the increase in print advertising.

Its radio broadcasting arm posted a revenue of RM14.9mil in 1H23, a 13% decrease as compared with RM17.1mil in 1H22, mainly due to seasonality factors.

Revenue for SMG’s property development and investment business in 1H23 was RM4.2mil compared with RM1.4mil in 1H22 which was mainly attributed to the launch of Star Business Hub and an increase in occupancy rate of the properties