SINGAPORE, 11 October 2017 - Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH) today reported its results for the year ended 31 August 2017 (FY2017). Net profit attributable to shareholders of $350.1 million was $84.8 million or 32% higher compared to FY2016.

The results for the year were boosted by a gain of $149.7 million from partial divestment of the Group's stake in the regional online classifieds business, and a fair value gain on investment properties of $57.4 million. However, these gains were partially offset by charges of $96 million which included impairment of the magazine business amid unfavourable market conditions, write-down of printing presses due to consolidation of printing capacity, and write-down of investments in associates to realisable value. The effect of these items was a net gain of $127.6 million compared to last financial year.

Group recurring earnings excluding impairment charges declined $67.5 million or 20.2% year-on-year ('yoy'). Group operating revenue of $1,032.5 million was $91.8 million or 8.2% lower than FY2016, as the disruption to the media industry continued to impact the revenue from the Media business which slid by $108.8 million or 13% yoy. Against FY2016, advertisement revenue was down $102.5 million or 16.9%, while circulation revenue saw a dip of $8.7 million or 5.1%.

The Property segment continued to deliver steady results as revenue rose $2.8 million or 1.2% yoy, bolstered by higher rental income from the Group's retail assets.

Revenue from the Group's other businesses grew $14.1 million or 28.9% against FY2016, attributed mainly to income from the newly acquired healthcare business.

With the Group's continued emphasis on cost discipline and operating efficiency, total costs fell $33.6 million or 4.1% yoy excluding impairment charges.

Investment income of $53.9 million was higher by $2.1 million or 4.1% against the previous year.

On the business outlook, Mr Ng Yat Chung, Chief Executive Officer of SPH, said: 'To deal with the disruption to our core media business, we will step up our investments to enhance our capabilities in digital, data analytics, radio broadcasts, video and content marketing. These will enable us to seek new growth and better meet the changing needs of our readers, subscribers and clients.

'The Group will complete the full 10% staff reduction announced last October by the end of this calendar year, and is expected to incur retrenchment costs of approximately $13 million in the current quarter. It includes restructuring the newsrooms and sales operations, reducing 15% of staff in these core media divisions.'


The Directors of SPH have proposed a Final Dividend of 9 cents per share, comprising a Normal

Dividend of 3 cents per share and a Special Dividend of 6 cents per share in respect of the financial year

ended 31 August 2017. These dividends will be paid on 22 December 2017. Together with the Interim

Dividend of 6 cents, total Dividend payout for FY2017 will be 15 cents.

Please see attached SGX announcement and presentation slides.

About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd

Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is Asia's leading media organisation, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.

Media
The English/Malay/Tamil Media group (EMTM) comprises the print and digital operations of The Straits Times, The Business Times, The New Paper, Berita Harian, Tamil Murasu, tabla! and their respective student publications. It also includes subsidiaries book publishing arm Straits Times Press; SPH Data Services, which licenses the use of the Straits Times Index in partnership with the Singapore Exchange and FTSE-Russell Ltd; financial data company ShareInvestor; the two English stations of SPH Radio - Kiss92 and ONE FM 91.3, and SPH Golf (including SPH Pacom Ltd).

The Chinese Media group (CMG) publishes three Chinese newspapers in print and digital format - Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News; four student weeklies - zbCOMMA, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Up Junior and Thumbs Up Little Junior, and ZBBZ Newsgazine. It also operates SPH Radio's Chinese radio station, UFM100.3, and Focus Publishing, which produces a range of books and magazines including U-Weekly.

SPH's other digital media initiatives include AsiaOne, Stomp, zaobao.sg and zaobao.com.
On an average day, 2.5 million* individuals or 59 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH's news publications in print copies or one of our digital platforms. (* Nielsen Media Index 2016, Monday-Sunday, read any SPH newspapers in print or digital format)

SPH Magazines, SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, publishes and produces about 80 magazine titles and has various online sites, like hardwarezone.com, herworldplus.com and luxuryinsider.com in Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. It has also invested in digital newsstand Magzter.

SPH also provides out-of-home (OOH) advertising options where it manages large format screens and static billboards at key locations in the Central Business District, Orchard Road, City Fringe as well as major heartland hubs.

SPH Buzz is a modern retail convenience chain with a network of stores around the island.
Properties
SPH REIT is a Singapore-based REIT established to invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate primarily for retail purposes. SPH REIT comprises Paragon, a premier upscale retail mall and medical suite/office property in Orchard Road and The Clementi Mall, a mid-market suburban mall in the centre of Clementi town.

The Seletar Mall, located in Sengkang, is SPH's latest retail development. This property is a potential asset to be injected into SPH REIT. SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.

Other Businesses

Online Classified

SPH's online classifieds include the leading online marketplace for jobs (STJobs, FastJobs), property (STProperty), cars (STCars) and general classifieds (STClassifieds), sgCarMart and StreetSine.

SPH's regional joint venture online classified business has a number of leading online classified sites in the region.

Events and Exhibitions
Sphere Exhibits, Sphere Conferences, Exhibits Inc and Bizlink Exhibition Services organise innovative consumer and trade events and exhibitions as well as large scale conferences in Singapore and the region.

Healthcare

SPH owns Orange Valley which operates nursing homes.
Education
SPH has a 22 per cent stake in preschool and enrichment provider MindChamps.

For more information, please visit www.sph.com.sg.

SPH - Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. published this content on 11 October 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 11 October 2017 10:19:10 UTC.

Original documenthttp://www.sph.com.sg/media_releases/3327

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