Times Media Group first-half earnings up

MEDIA company Times Media Group (TMG) reported on Wednesday diluted headline earnings per share of R1.72 for the six months ended December 2013 compared with 18c from a year earlier. The group declared an interim dividend of 25c per share.

Revenue was R2.142bn‚ from R2.137bn a year earlier‚ while operating costs from continuing operations reduced 18% on the back of aggressive overhead cuts.

Discontinued operations contributed R257m after-tax profit — R233m from profits on disposals of non-core assets‚ and the balance of R24m from trading.

Operations that were discontinued include I-Net Bridge‚ Nu Metro Cinemas and Exclusive Books.

“The media division performed above expectations‚ while the financial results for retail solutions were behind the comparable period due to the closure of the web printing division. Our operating costs have been reduced‚ and cash flow enhanced as a result of cost-reduction exercises‚” said the company.

Times Media Group said all its newspapers  (including The Herald)  were profitable‚ maintaining profit levels reached in the previous year‚ despite the difficult market conditions.

“During the next six months‚ we move our broadcast (TV and radio)‚ films‚ music and certain digital businesses into a new division‚ reflecting our increased investment and focus in the broadcast and content arena. The broader nature of our business compels us to work across various media platforms‚ specially for advertising sales‚” it said. © BDlive 2014