SPH's net profit plummets 43.8% to $45.7m in Q1

Blame it on retrenchment benefits for laid-off staff.

Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH) reported that its net profit dropped by almost half to $45.7 million year-on-year in the first quarter, due mostly to lower revenue and higher charges from its media business.

The group suffered charges of $15.9 million arising from the media business review and impairment of an associate, and a decline of $12.6 million in profits in the media business.

In addition, the first quarter saw a net loss from investments of $1.8 million compared to a net gain of $10.3 million in the same period last year, mainly due to a fair value loss on forward hedges for portfolio investments.

The charges incurred comprised mainly $7.2 million of retrenchment and outplacement benefits as part of the group’s right-sizing exercise involving a staff reduction of up to 10% over two years, and an impairment charge of $2.6 million arising from the optimisation of printing capacity.

The impairment charge of $4.8 million on an associate was taken in conjunction with the restructuring of the video business.

Meanwhile, operating revenue fell by 6.0% yoy to $278.3 million. The group’s media business saw a 9.5% yoy drop in revenue, largely due to a 13.5% fall in advertisement revenue.

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