Board of Dasmond Koh’s NoonTalk Media says management’s pay ‘fair and justifiable’ amid firm’s losses

[SINGAPORE] The board of Dasmond Koh’s NoonTalk Media has defended the salaries of its management despite the company incurring three consecutive years of losses since its listing in November 2022.

A fair and systematic approach is adopted in assessing key management remuneration, taking into account defined key performance indicators, performance milestones and market benchmarks, said Cruz Teng, chairman of NoonTalk Media’s remuneration committee during its annual general meeting (AGM) held on Oct 31. 

The committee is satisfied with the commitment and efforts demonstrated by key management and views the company’s remuneration package to be “fair and justifiable”. 

Teng said the committee aims to remain competitive in attracting and retaining talent, and expressed confidence that key management personnel are fairly compensated and continues to demonstrate improved performance. 

This was in response to a question posed by Bay Guan Seng, on whether the company’s performance review framework “reflects a culture of accountability”. 

Among resolutions approved during the AGM was an approval of directors’ fees of up to S$120,000 for the financial year ended Jun 30, 2025. 

During the meeting, it was mentioned how Koh, a former DJ and chief executive officer of NoonTalk Media, had “extended personal loans” to the company to support its business continuity.

Employees and management have shown strong dedication during challenging periods, including taking no-pay leave to support the completion of projects, said Lynda Wee, chairperson of the board. 

She added that the company is “currently in an experimental stage, undertaking calculated risks to explore new opportunities within the industry”.

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While certain outcomes may fall outside management’s control, each initiative provides valuable learning experiences that contribute to NoonTalk Media’s long-term growth, she noted. 

“In evaluating key executives, the remuneration committee considers their contractual deliverables, lessons learnt and demonstrated commitment,” she added.

In October, the independent auditor for Catalist-listed NoonTalk Media raised doubts about the group’s ability to continue as a going concern, citing net liabilities and substantial losses for the financial year ended Jun 30.

The auditor pointed to several worrying figures as at Jun 30. The group, which includes wholly owned subsidiary NTM Masterpiece, recorded net liabilities of S$396,881. The company itself had net liabilities of S$269,351. The group also incurred a net loss of nearly S$1.8 million and net operating cash outflow of S$900,668 for the financial year.

In October, NoonTalk Media defended its business strategy amid the going concern warning. 

It launched a new award, the Golden Singa Awards, for Chinese-language films which will increase the visibility of Chinese productions and is developing micro-dramas which it said will create new revenue streams. 

During the AGM, Bay also asked whether the shift into micro-dramas was driven by the lower production costs of micro-dramas, or if it was part of a new business strategy.

Chief operating officer Jed Tay answered that venturing into micro-dramas aligns with current market trends, particularly as the popularity of the genre has grown rapidly in China and the region. 

NoonTalk Media has already launched several projects and plans to increase production, with more releases expected soon.

Koh added that although micro-dramas have lower production costs and shorter timelines than long-form dramas, each project is still assessed against a minimum target return. 

The growing demand for micro-dramas also enables NoonTalk Media to produce a higher volume of content, which can collectively generate returns comparable to larger projects. 

Shares of NoonTalk Media closed 38.2 per cent or S$0.021 higher at S$0.076 before the announcement.