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Kenya-based Nation Media Group (NMG) has posted KSh285.2 million ($2.6 million) in profits in the first half of its 2021 fiscal year.
Figures contained in the group’s first-half results revealed that profits grew by 182.2 percent to KSh285.2 million ($2.6 million) from the loss of KSh375.3 million ($3.42 million) that it suffered in the first half of 2020.
During the period, the triple-digit surge in profits came off a 14-percent increase in revenue, which rose from KSh3.26 billion ($29.72 million) last year to KSh3.72 billion ($33.91 million).
The management of the Kenya-based media group believed its resilient financial performance is mainly attributable to a sustained recovery across all of its business segments following the disruption occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020.
The recovery was delivered on the back of growth in print and TV advertising revenue, digital advertising revenue, e-paper and Nation.Africa subscriptions.
In addition, cost containment and business optimization interventions rolled out at the onset of the pandemic resulted in sustained operational efficiency and a 182.2-percent increase in its profits during the period.
To sustain earnings growth, Nation Media Group revealed that it will continue to invest heavily to diversify its digital product offerings, while maintaining a strong presence in the print and broadcast media sectors through quality journalism.
As of press time, 1:45 PM (UTC), Aug. 25, shares in the group were trading at KSh25.0, four-basis points lower than its opening price for the day.
Prince Shah Karim al-Husayni, “Aga Khan IV,” the current Imam of Nizari Ismailism,* who founded the media house in 1959, holds indirectly a 44.7-percent stake in the group.
Since founding NMG, the group has become the largest private media house in East and Central Africa, with offices in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
*Nizari Ismailism is a denomination of Ismailism within Shia Islam.
