Nation Media Group (NMG) has reported a drastic fall in net profit for the year that ended on 31st December 2020. Its net profit dropped to Kes48 million from Kes856 million in 2019, equivalent to a 94.4% decline.
Government restrictions and other effects of the covid19 pandemic severely affected the biggest media company in East Africa. NMG recorded a sharp decline in advertising revenue and income from the sale of newspapers also fell dramatically. Nation Media Group’s revenue decreased to Kes6.81 billion from Kes9.05 billion the year before.
Nonetheless, the media company registered notable growth in digital subscriptions in the period under review. In July, the company launched a new digital brand, Nation.Africa which it expects to drive long-term profitability.
In a press statement, Nation Media Group said, “Going forward, the Group will focus on building on the early gains from its digital transformation initiatives through further investment in our journalism and diversification of our digital products offerings while upholding its strong position in the print and broadcast media sectors”.
The value of NMG’s total assets decreased to Kes11.82 billion at the end of 2020 from Kes12.1 billion at the end of 2019. Its total liabilities also fell to Kes3.89 billion from Kes 4.3 billion the previous year.
Nation Media Group, in a rare move, failed to declare a dividend payment for the financial year 2020.
Miriam Mukuru of The Kenyan Wallstreet contributed to this article
