CEO's Business Review - Singapore Press Holdings
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18
Singapore Press Holdings
CEO’s
Business Review
Singapore suffered its worst ever MEDIA & DIGITAL
recession on record this year due
MEDIA BUSINESS
to the impact of the Covid-19
Our media business revenue declined
pandemic. In the second quarter,
S$131.7 million (22.8%), from S$576.9
the economy contracted by 13.2%
million in FY19 to S$445.1 million in
year-on-year (y-o-y) amid a global
FY20. Media advertisement revenue
economic downturn.
fell by S$122.5 million (31.4%), led by
a decline of S$99.1 million (32.9%)
The pandemic has also adversely
in newspaper print advertisement
impacted all our business segments.
revenue.
Our operating profit was S$110.2
million for the year ended 31 August
However, our media products
2020 (FY20) as operating revenue
saw digital circulation surpassing
declined S$93.6 million or 9.8% to
the decline in print circulation for
S$865.7 million.
the second consecutive year. The
average daily circulation at 838,000
The effects of Covid-19 will last for
copies was 6.1% higher than last year,
some time, but we are prepared for
with an increase of 55.6% in average
a long road to recovery through
daily digital circulation, while print
prudent management and continued
circulation declined by 20% y-o-y.
transformation of our businesses.
Our publications also achieved
higher sales of both print and digital
publications from news such as
Covid-19, National Budget and
General Election 2020 (GE2020).
Incremental sales attributable to
these events were 16% higher than
the periods before the events.
I would like to take this opportunity
to thank all stakeholders for
your unstinting support as we
strive to overcome and emerge
stronger from this crisis.
19
Annual Report 2020
A total of 40,000 subscribers have followers. On Facebook, TNP’s first English-language e-magazine
been enjoying their daily news on organic reach grew from 107,090 featuring articles by ZB journalists
the SPH News Tablet. We also to 124,462. and notable writers and experts on
introduced several new functions China to provide insights on China’s
on the news tablet app to improve Chinese Media Group’s (CMG) news developments. Thumbs Up Junior
customer experience. products also experienced digital introduced a revamped edition for
growth in the last FY. Page views of lower primary school children in
The overall digital and print zaobao.sg (excluding zaobao.com) January 2020.
circulation growth for English/ increased 64% y-o-y to 287.7 million.
Malay/ Tamil Media sites increased Unique visitors during this period grew We continued to review our core
from an average of about 465,600 36% y-o-y to 22.5 million users, with media business and merged SPH
in August 2019 to 532,300 in August an average monthly unique visitorship Magazines’ and SPH’s media
2020. The Straits Times (ST) led the of 2.7 million. April 2020 saw the operations on 1 December 2019. The
pack with y-o-y growth of 19%. highest growth due to heightened effort consolidated our strengths as a
Overall page views for ST’s website public interest on the Covid-19 Circuit media owner and streamlined media
and digital platforms surged 88% Breaker measures, when monthly and magazines operations, allowing
to 774 million from 413 million in unique visitors grew to 3.8 million, advertisers to target the audiences of
the last FY. The launch of the ST while page views increased to both news and magazine titles with a
News Tablet in December 2019 was 39.7 million. The total number of single campaign buy. It created more
highly successful. In just six months, CMG news tablet unique visitors, magazine content for newspaper
subscriptions crossed the 14,500 who can read Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe audiences and provided magazine
mark and by the end of the FY, Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News on advertisers with greater exposure.
sign-ups hit 17,000. the tablet, increased to 18,807.
In August 2020, we restructured
The Business Times (BT) launched In April 2020, zaobao.sg rolled our media sales and magazines
its personal edition in April 2020, its out the Zaobao Rewards Loyalty operations with 140 staff from Media
first subscription package targeted at Programme to reward users for Solutions Division and SPH Magazines
individual readers with no contract reading and sharing articles and affected by a retrenchment exercise,
lock-in and no expiry, attracting over improve reader engagement. which was conducted to address the
2,000 subscribers. The BT website Lianhe Zaobao (ZB) launched impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on
saw the highest traffic this FY in April ThinkChina in September 2019, its our advertising revenue.
2020, with some 2.5 million unique
visitors generating 7.9 million page
views. BT’s iPhone and Android apps
The Business Times is
were revamped and cumulatively the latest publication to
reached a record high of 43,000 users, launch its news tablet
generating 3.5 million screen views in
June 2020. BT also launched its news
tablet on 15 September 2020.
Berita Harian (BH) launched its news
tablet in September 2019. Its podcasts
enjoyed an upward trend since they
started in May 2019, with downloads
growing to 10,000 a month.
The Tamil Murasu (TM) + ST News
Tablet was launched in May 2020 and
the TM website saw a huge surge in
monthly overall active users which
grew by 347.82% while its Facebook
page drew more than 79,000 followers.
The total page views for tnp.sg (TNP)
rose by 5 million compared to last
year, as did its Instagram account,
which went up from 15,000 to 17,200
20
Singapore Press Holdings
CEO’s
Business Review
Our newspaper vendor delivery registered the highest growth of series of Virtual Jobs Discovery Fest,
network was seriously affected by the 48% in audience time spent listening attracting more than 1,600 applicants
shortage of manpower amidst the amongst all English radio stations across over 200 vacancies targeted at
Covid-19 outbreak. The call centre in Singapore. non-executive jobseekers.
was ramped up to handle customer
requests and our staff were mobilised In May 2020, Triton Digital reported a Singapore Media Exchange (SMX),
to deliver the papers and call up y-o-y increase of 72% in overall SPH the joint venture with Mediacorp
subscribers. As the situation persisted, Radio podcast downloads, where to provide advertisers a brand-
we introduced deliveries to letter podcasts by MONEY FM 89.3 and safe, premium inventory at scale,
boxes to solve the vendors’ manpower 96.3 Hao FM increased by 174% and further strengthened its position
crunch and minimised contact 141% respectively. in the Singapore programmatic
between the vendors and subscribers marketplace, growing its average
to ensure their safety. The distribution SPH Radio entered a partnership monthly revenue by 27% in 2019. SMX
network is further strengthened by the with NTUC Co-operative to expanded its Supply-Side Platform
availability of 115 newspaper vending exclusively manage FairPrice Finest partnerships in 2020, making it easier
machines islandwide. Radio and market its in-store airtime for advertisers and media agencies to
to advertisers in July 2020. This is access its inventory.
We also partnered the National SPH Radio’s first foray into an
Library Board (NLB) during this period in-store environment, bringing OctoRocket expanded its presence
to provide 3,000 daily digital access quality programming to a wider in regional markets through strong
across all our publications to their audience segment with higher partnerships with regional trade
members, who could enjoy online purchasing propensity. ministries in Thailand and Malaysia.
news resources even when the The company partnered Sphere
libraries were temporarily closed. DIGITAL BUSINESS Exhibits to power its e-exhibition@
M1 was awarded the joint rights to MIFB 2020, showcasing food
We continued to print and deliver operate the upcoming 5G network manufacturers across Singapore,
newspapers to our readers in a in Singapore with StarHub. With Malaysia, China, Korea, Japan
timely manner during the pandemic the 5G network licence granted and more.
outbreak. Our Production workforce by Infocomm Media Development
was divided into multiple groups and Authority (IMDA), M1 has the SPH Ventures continued to invest in
shifts to work in two separate printing opportunity to build and operate a promising startups in sectors such as
plants to mitigate the exposure to state-of-the-art 5G standalone (SA) Digital Media, Marketing Technology
the virus. network infrastructure. and Consumer Internet. Notable
investments included Partipost, an
SPH Radio’s audience share and sgCarMart maintained its market Asia-focused social media marketing
listenership registered a double digit position as the leading automotive and commerce platform, and
growth of 13% and 10% respectively marketplace with more than 80 times Influence.co, a US-based professional
in the Nielsen Radio Diary Survey the user engagement and page views network for influencers, creators and
in November 2019. UFM100.3’s against its biggest competitor. Its the businesses that work with them.
listenership grew 27%, the highest YouTube channel is the most popular
amongst all Chinese radio stations car channel in Singapore and its car DC Frontiers (Handshakes), which
in Singapore. 96.3 Hao FM showed selling auction service sgCarMart specialises in machine learning
the highest growth amongst Chinese Quotz set a new record for number and corporate intelligence, gained
radio stations aimed at mature of cars transacted. international recognition when it was
listeners, increasing its listenership appointed by Nikkei Inc. to power
by 24% within its core audience aged FastJobs continued to grow its reach and manage scoutAsia, a data and
40 to 59. Listenership for Kiss92 across Singapore, Malaysia and the news service developed by Nikkei
and ONE FM 91.3 increased by 4% Philippines, reaching 3.3 million and the Financial Times. Handshakes’
and 6% respectively. ONE FM 91.3 downloads. The company ran a artificial intelligence (AI) and machine
21
Annual Report 2020
Interior view of PBSA asset Student Castle Oxford in the UK
learning technologies are expected As part of the Student Castle portfolio £4-8 million range that had been
to significantly improve the accuracy acquisition, we also acquired 2 assets earlier anticipated.
and efficiency of scoutAsia’s under development. We are pleased to
news monitoring and corporate announce that Student Castle Oxford There was minimal disruption to
information search functions. achieved its Practical Completion our PBSA development in Bremen,
on 7 September 2020, and students Germany and its universities
PURPOSE-BUILT STUDENT have moved in for the Academic Year continued with online classes.
ACCOMMODATION (PBSA) 2020/2021. Student Castle Brighton
was slightly delayed as a result of PROPERTY & RETAIL
We moved forward to cement our
disruption to the supplies of building
position as a key player in the PBSA Our investment properties incurred
materials. We have put in place
sector in the United Kingdom (UK) a fair value loss of S$232 million in
alternative accommodation to ensure
with the acquisition of seven assets FY20, largely arising from a reduction
minimal disruptions to students who
for £411 million (S$743.6 million) in property valuation of retail malls
have already booked with us.
in December 2019, expanding our (S$196.5 million) and PBSA portfolio
portfolio size to over S$1.4 billion (S$31.9 million).
The PBSA portfolio achieved 88% of
comprising 7,723 beds across
target revenue for Academic Year
28 assets. Impacted by Covid-19, SPH REIT
2020/2021 as at 9 October 2020.
saw a decline in tenant sales and
We invested around £10.6 footfall across its malls in both
Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, we have
million (S$18.9 million) on asset Singapore and Australia.
been proactive in rolling out various
enhancement initiatives to ensure
measures to protect the residents
a consistent level of quality across In Singapore, the Government
and PBSA staff. We remained
the portfolio. We integrated legislated rental rebate to assist
vigilant and continued to monitor the
existing booking systems under the tenants through property tax rebates
evolving situation in UK closely. In
proprietary Student Castle platform and cash grants. Complementing
April 2020, we offered students the
to drive operational synergies. The the Government’s schemes,
option of refunds if they wished to
system supports both the Student SPH REIT provided its own additional
leave their tenancies before the end
Castle and Capitol Students brands targeted rental relief to assist eligible
of term. The reduction in revenue
and effectively targets international tenants whose businesses were
totaled approximately £4.6 million,
and domestic students. more impacted.
a level at the lower end of the
22
Singapore Press Holdings
CEO’s
Business Review
SPH REIT aims to work with tenants AGED CARE compliance with advisories from the
by lightening the burden of those relevant authorities, to keep its staff
Orange Valley Nursing Homes (OV)
affected in a targeted manner and and residents safe.
reopened Changi Care Village (CCV)
supporting them through this difficult
after a year-long renovation. With
time, so that both landlord and OV saw its overall Bed Occupancy
greater emphasis on holistic person-
tenants can be ready for recovery Rate (BOR) steadily increase
centric care, the home’s enhanced
when the time comes. despite the challenging operating
facilities now include unique open
environment. Growth in the sale
outdoor spaces and green features.
In December 2019, SPH REIT of Personal Protective Equipment
acquired Westfield Marion, the largest by its subsidiary, Life Medic (LM)
OV implemented the Express
mall in South Australia, to further also positively contributed to
Admission Programme to allow
diversify its geographical footprint OV’s financials.
eligible prospective residents in
and income streams. With Australia
need of urgent care to be admitted
also battling the pandemic, SPH REIT SPH Silver Care expanded its footprint
within a day. OV also introduced the
worked with joint venture partners overseas with the acquisition of
CARE20 programme for qualified
to roll out targeted assistance on a aged care assets in Japan consisting
new residents to enjoy admission
tenant by tenant basis in accordance of a total of 365 beds across five
fee waiver and quality eldercare
with the “SME Commercial Code of assets. Three of the properties are in
at competitive rates during these
Conduct and Leasing Principles”. Hokkaido, and the others in Tokyo
challenging times.
and Nara in the Osaka Metropolitan
Despite the challenging retail Region. The total acquisition of
OV activated its pandemic response
environment, SPH REIT’s portfolio S$66 million is in line with our
plan to safeguard uninterrupted
occupancy rate remained at 97.7% strategy of investing in aged care and
continuity of its services during the
as at end FY20. On the capital healthcare assets, and expanding its
Covid-19 pandemic. It implemented
market front, we successfully business footprint in markets with
various precautionary measures, in
tapped the equity market and raised fast-ageing populations.
S$164.5 million in December 2019
from a private placement of
156.6 million new units. The
placement was well-received and
drew strong participation from new
and existing institutional investors.
Armed with a strong balance
sheet, prudent and proactive capital
management strategy, SPH REIT
will continue to work closely with
its tenants to overcome the
challenges ahead.
On the private property front,
The Woodleigh Residences sold
376 units as at 4 October 2020,
representing over 56% of the
total 667 units. Sales have been
encouraging since the lifting of the
Circuit Breaker, with over 171 units
sold as at 4 October 2020.
Common area in one of the aged care assets in Japan23
Annual Report 2020
To future-proof our employees,
we will continue to equip them
with knowledge and skills required
to thrive in the digital realm.
Among the more important digital
competencies are cybersecurity
to protect our digital assets, digital
marketing strategies to ensure our
products meet the needs of our
consumers and advertisers, and the
use of AI to stay ahead of the digital
transformation.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 95
unique courses, such as Integrated
Digital Marketing Strategies, Building
a Data Culture with Tableau,
Skillsfuture for Digital Workplace,
were either delivered virtually by
instructors or attended by staff via
self-paced eLearning. There was
a 400% increase in the number of
hours spent on self-paced online
ST photojournalist Kevin Lim (first from left) dressed in full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
learning over the past year.
on assignment
LOOKING AHEAD
It has been an extremely challenging
We will continue to monitor the We divested our 5.29% stake in AXA
year for all of us in SPH. Many of
Covid-19 situation before considering Tower for approximately S$33.2
our staff had to cope with split-team
further investments in the aged million, through our wholly-owned
operations and working from
care segment. subsidiary PE One Pte Ltd.
home. Despite all the constraints
and inconveniences, they still put
ASSET AND CAPITAL On 1 July 2020, we completed the
in their best performance to deliver
MANAGEMENT sale of our entire interest in the chain
quality work.
of over 50 Buzz convenience stores
On 29 June 2020, we entered into a
islandwide. Following the divestment,
joint venture (JV) with Keppel Data It is heartening to see that our
we will continue to have access
Centres Holding (KDCH) to jointly customers continue to show us their
to the Buzz outlets as distribution
develop and operate data centre support in such critical times. I am
channels for our publications.
facilities at 82 Genting Lane. We confident that we can tide through
hold 40% interest in the JV this difficult period.
In preparation for a lengthy Covid-19
company and KDCH holds the
pandemic recovery, we have ensured
remaining 60%. The JV company I would like to take this opportunity
sufficient liquidity across our business
acquired the leasehold interest from to thank shareholders, readers,
segments. We are maintaining a
Singapore News and Publications subscribers, advertisers, colleagues,
weighted average debt to maturity
Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary unions and other stakeholders for
of 3.4 years and a healthy interest
of SPH, for a consideration of your unstinting support as we strive
coverage ratio of 3.8x.
S$50 million. We recognised a gain to overcome and emerge stronger
of S$25.7 million from the sale. We from this crisis.
HUMAN CAPITAL
anticipate that the secular trend
towards digitalisation and the We continued to invest in training
movement of data to the cloud will and development of our staff due to
drive strong demand for hyperscale the challenges confronting the media
data centres. In addition, the JV will industry. To help our employees
enable us to maximise economic remain relevant and maintain their
returns and improve the return on competitive edge, we constantly
capital on an existing asset and to evaluate their training needs and NG YAT CHUNG
participate in a growing sector. update our training programmes. Chief Executive OfficerYou can also read
