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

Singapore

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 its annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday, SPH 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.

For the full year ended Aug 31, the media business shrank 22.8 per cent to S$445.1 million due to a 32.9 per cent decline in newspaper print advertisement revenue.

Daily print circulation copies also suffered, falling 20 per cent year on year. Digital circulation, on the other hand, has gained traction, growing 55.6 per cent to 423,400 in August 2020.

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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, offers 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 key strategy SPH outlined during the AGM is to focus on increasing its recurring income from the property segment, which includes the retail and purpose-built student accommodation businesses.

This income will be complemented by growth in the aged care and digital media businesses, the group said on Thursday 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 ended Friday at S$1.22, down S$0.01 or 0.81 per cent.