South African integrated media group Moneyweb Holdings on Monday reported fully diluted headline earnings per share of 0,54 cents for the six months ended September 30 — unchanged from the previous comparable period.
Fully diluted earnings per share were at 0,55 cents compared with 0,03 cents last year. Revenue declined 5% to R9,5-million compared with R9,9-million. EBITDA rose 23% to R764 000 as the group reacted timeously to the loss of its biggest advertiser.
Moneyweb said that the decline in revenue reflected a termination by the headline sponsor of its support on the group’s major radio programme.
”Because of the complaints from other advertisers about being crowded out and the vulnerability of the company to a single revenue source, no replacement headline sponsor was sought,” the group said.
It added that despite this reverse, which accounted for a fifth of overall income last year, the modest drop in revenue reflected the offsetting effect of higher demand for internet advertising, particularly on the company’s flagship website.
It said the local online audience was growing strongly, primarily because of South Africa’s belated introduction of broadband.
”The initial impact of broadband revolution is reflected in the 35% year-on-year expansion of Moneyweb’s core local audience — home page unique visitors,” the company said.
The 35% increase in audience numbers is the fastest since the company was started.
One-off costs were, however, incurred in the restructuring of the group’s mining news website and relocating its base to London. But more efficient utilisation of the moneyweb.co.uk website and strong growth in revenue from the partnership with google.com ensured a positive contribution from offshore operations.
Looking ahead, the group said it was budgeting for improved sales and a double-digit EBITDA margin during the second half of the financial year. This was expected to come from three sources, which are continued growth internet advertising, a deeper relationship with the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s radio stations and a strengthening of a partnership with publisher Caxton through joint ventures in local newspapers. – I-Net Bridge