SPH MediaWorks narrowed operating losses in the second quarter to S$6.4 million (US$3.8 million) from $10.3 million a year ago. "Coupled with more players and advertising choices all fighting for the same pie, our revenue has been affected," said Wee Leong How, executive director of MediaWorks.
SPH chief executive officer Alan Chan said severe discounting in the television industry had made it difficult to predict when MediaWorks would become profitable.
To overcome the situation, Wee said the company planned to continue managing its costs judiciously and improve its programmes to keep ratings up.
A media agency manager confirmed that the industry was facing serious discounting issues. He said both MediaWorks and rival MediaCorp should move to a more accountable system that was linked to cost.
Such a move would counter the practice of giving away bonus airtime if the prromised reach is not delivered.
Overall, SPH saw net proffit for the second quarter tumble from $190.7 million the year before, which included $134 million in exceptional items, to $89.3 million.
Group turnover increased 6.3 per cent to $228.1 million.
Revenue from core newspaper and magazine operations increased 3.6 per cent to $192.4 million, while revenue from broadcasting and multimedia fell 4.3 per cent to $14.7 million. Its property arm saw revenue rise 54.1 per cent to $21 million. SPH also announced a five-to-one stock split to make its shares more affordable and a capital reduction plan to improve returns to sharehoklders.