SPH FY2016 profit falls 17.5% to S$265.3m

SINGAPORE Press Holdings' (SPH) net profit for fiscal 2016 fell 17.5 per cent to S$265.3 million as revenue from its core media business continued to decline and impairments from the magazine segment cut into the bottom line.

The media and property group, whose publications include The Business Times, is declaring a dividend of 11 Singapore cents per share, comprising a final dividend of eight Singapore cents and a special dividend of three Singapore cents, down from its year-ago payout of 13 Singapore cents per share. The total payout for the year ended Aug 31 will be 18 Singapore cents, down from FY2015's total of 20 Singapore cents.

Operating revenue decreased by 4.5 per cent to S$1.12 billion in the year ended Aug 31, with the amount contributed by the media business slipping 7.6 per cent to S$834.2 million. SPH also recognised an impairment of S$28.4 million during the year, mostly from its magazine business.

A Bloomberg poll of seven analysts had a median profit estimate of S$259.9 million.