SPH to invest in digitalising media business, seek new recurring income

SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) will continue to invest in the transformation of its media business in response to changing consumer habits, which have been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday, SPH's chief executive Ng Yat Chung said: "We have not been spared from rapid changes disrupting the news media industry everywhere. Consumer habits are changing and they are increasingly moving to digital media."

Against this backdrop, SPH, which publishes The Business Times, has been recording a decline in both print advertising and print subscription revenue, which were traditionally its largest revenue drivers.

In response, SPH will further digitalise its media business in a bid to "rejuvenate, reinvent and reposition" its product offerings, said Mr Ng.

Earlier efforts have already translated to growth in digital circulation and digital advertising revenue over the last few years, along with efforts to stem the decline in print revenue.

For instance, enhancements were made to news websites and apps. The news tablet campaign for its newspapers also yielded positive results, and SPH will soon roll out news tablets for magazines as well.

SPH has also improved data analytics to ramp up its subscriptions. Its new model is able to serve promotions to readers who are more likely to subscribe - this has led to a conversion rate three times higher than with the original model.

Investment in data analytics, meanwhile, offer insights that will help the firm design better campaigns.

Other digital initiatives include a new subscription e-shop and content management system to improve the productivity of editors and journalists in the newsroom. In addition, it can better identify subscribers most likely to terminate their subscription for early intervention.

Another area SPH will focus is in increasing its recurring income from the property segment, which includes the retail and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) businesses.

This income will be complemented by growth in the aged care and digital media businesses, the group had said in response to questions from shareholders as well as during the AGM.

SPH will also continue to manage its costs and balance sheet while seeking growth in defensive income producing assets, said Mr Ng.

All resolutions were passed during the AGM.

Shares of SPH were trading flat S$1.23 as at 3.57pm on Friday.