By Nation. Africa

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Nation Media Group (NMG) returned to profitability in the six months to December 2020 on improved revenue from television and digital products after it recorded a substantial loss for the six months to June 2020 in the wake of Covid-19 disruptions.

Total comprehensive income for the year ended December 2020 stood at Sh135.5 million($1.3 million) , marking a strong recovery from Sh352.7 million($3.2 Million) loss the listed media house posted at half year.

This was, however, significantly lower than the total comprehensive income of Sh862.6 million that the group posted for  2019.

Kenya’s economic performance in 2020 was hit by effects of the Covid-19 scourge and restrictions that were put in place by respective governments in East Africa to contain its spread, forcing many businesses to either scale down operations, send employees home or close down entirely.

NMG says the curbs on movements and stay-at-home push affected newspapers distribution, adding that a drop in hard copy sales was partially mitigated by growth in e-paper subscriptions.
Pandemic-related restrictions  

“Overall performance improved in the second half of the year following gradual easing of the pandemic-related restrictions across the group’s markets,” NMG said in a statement.

“In particular, television and digital revenue grew substantially while print advertising and circulation volumes commenced recovery.”

East Africa’s largest media company has rolled out a two-pronged approach to sustain growth that includes renewed digital presence and a revamp of its print business with the recent facelift of the Daily Nation.

With a majority of Kenyans having access to the internet, online marketing and web listing sites are fast gaining currency in the country with big media houses such as NMG leading the charge. NMG now plans to leverage on its internet traffic and its websites to turn the online audiences into sustainable revenue streams.
Digital brand

“The group’s flagship digital brand, Nation.Africa, launched in July 2020, continues to register impressive growth in our journey to becoming a modern, reader revenue driven, content company and a leader in the mobile publishing landscape in Africa,” said NMG.

Three months after the introduction of its metered paywall, the NMG on April 23 announced a new milestone, as digital subscription rose to more than 52,000 subscribers.

The media house is making increased investment in paid digital content, which presents one of the best avenues to turn around fortunes at a time the pandemic has slowed circulation and advertising revenue.

The firm’s share price has gained 15.25 percent over the three months to Sh17 per share.

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