The Nation Centre building in Nairobi’s Kimathi Street where the Nation Media Group offices are located. Monday, October 21, 2019 Simon KiraguKenyans.co.ke
Nation Media Group (NMG), on Monday, April 20, released its financial report for 2019, revealing a fall in net earnings to Ksh856 Million.
This represents a dip of at least Ksh244 million in net earnings compared to the 2018 financial year in which the giant media house registered Ksh1.17 billion in profit after tax.
"The Group’s performance was adversely affected by a challenging economic environment which together with industry-specific developments in a leading advertising sector precipitated reductions in advertising spend in general," the report reads in part. Nation Media Group CEO Stephen Gitagama.Daily Nation NMG Directors further recommended that the publicly listed company should not pay out dividends for the year in order to have enough cash reserves to invest in new revenue streams.
"The Group is making extensive investments in innovation to grow new revenue streams and gradually transition to digital media becoming a significant contributor of its revenue as the scope for growth in the legacy media business declines globally,
Considering the above, the Directors do not recommend payment of a final dividend for the year," reads the report in part.
NMG’s directors also highlighted the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, assuring investors that measures were currently being put in place to adapt to the changing tide.
"The Group will also continue to make appropriate investments to capture the opportunities presented by the rapidly growing digital media sector," reads an excerpt from the report.
NMG’s drop in profits paints a grim picture in regards to the future of traditional media, which explains their emphasis on looking to new frontiers and adapting to the digital age.
The loss of revenue is costing jobs in the once-thriving sector, with Standard Group, Royal Media Services, Mediamax among others being forced to lay off some of their staff as well as revise their salary packages to stay afloat.
An analysis by Pew Research Center which involved sifting through data from the Alliance for Audited Media, showed that 2018 was the worst year yet for newspaper circulation, the lowest since 1940. A newspaper stand in Kenya.File
