Hong Kong, March 27, 2012 – SCMP Group Limited (SEHK:583) today announced the audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011.
Net profit attributable to shareholders for the year 2011 was $371 million, 26% above 2010. Net profit from normal business operations increased 34% from $128 million in 2010 to $172 million in 2011. Net revenue rose by 7% to $946 million, driven by higher revenues across all divisions.
A key factor attributing to the healthy result was the improved economic environment and strong advertising sales, which boosted the group’s newspaper division revenues. The group also saw a significant growth in digital advertising, growth in their Magazines Division and their marketing services business, a unit established in 2009. Cost control measures also contributed to the result.
Operating profit from principal activities increased 25% from $158 million to $198 million. Basic per share earnings increased by 26% to 23.7 cents and full year dividend paid and payable increased by 33% to 8 cents a share.
“2011 has been a very encouraging year for our group,” said the Managing Director & CEO Ms Kuok Hui Kwong. “We prepared ourselves for a changing industry and a cautious advertiser market and focused our efforts on strengthening our brands and our products, particularly South China Morning Post, as well as boosting our digital offerings. The net result shows we have done the right thing and have a very bright future ahead of us.”
The newspaper division has continued to perform strongly throughout the year. Combined full year print and online readership figures for 2011 for South China Morning Post, Sunday Morning Post increased from 388,000 to 396,000 according to the Nielsen Media Index 2011 Year End report. Despite competition from a flourishing free newspaper market and overall declining print readership in the industry, combined print-only readership of the two titles showed a healthy growth from 368,000 to 382,000. Audited circulation figures from HKABC also showed encouraging year on year growth in circulation for South China Morning Post and Sunday Morning Post, from 101,389 and 79,216 to 103,328 and 80,357 respectively for the July-Dec half-year timeframe.
“The SCMP Group is actively powering up to meet the challenges of change, and seizing new opportunities with both confidence and careful consideration” remarked Dr David Pang, Chairman of SCMP Group, “the foundation is being laid for our group to grow and establish a stronger presence as a media force, not just in Hong Kong, but on the global stage.”
About The SCMP Group
SCMP Group Limited (SEHK: 583) is a leading newspaper and magazine publisher in Asia. Its flagship publication, South China Morning Post, is Hong Kong’s world renowned English language newspaper and has the city’s most affluent and influential readership. First published in 1903, the newspaper has developed an enviable reputation for authoritative, influential and independent reporting on Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia. Available in print, iPad™ and online through scmp.com and e-reader editions, South China Morning Post reaches a global audience with daily breaking news, insightful analysis and opinion, multimedia articles and interactive forums. Striving to maintain the highest standards among the world’s quality newspapers, the South China Morning Post receives constant international recognition. It received 55 awards in 2011 for excellence in editorial, marketing and technical capability. Other publication titles of the Group include the Sunday Morning Post, Luxehomes, Classified Post, JiuJik, smartjob.com, the Chinese editions of Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and CosmoGirl! magazines. For more information, please visit us at www.scmpgroup.com.
For enquiries please contact:
Media Enquiries:
Director of Marketing
Anne Wong
communications@scmp.com