MCOT sees 10% revenue rise
MCOT sees 10% revenue rise
MCOT Plc expects next year’s revenue to grow by more than 10%, above analysts’ estimates, driven by better advertising and new product launches.
The operator of television Channel 9 has seen advertising stabilising as the economy recovers from its first recession in 11 years, said the company’s newly appointed president Tanawat Wansom.
Mr Tanawat, 37, a former Star TV executive, aims to transform the former state-owned entity into a Southeast Asian media-content provider.
That could pit the company against regional media heavyweights including Singapore’s MediaCorp, which produces Channel News Asia, or the Philippines’ GMA Network.
MCOT, 65.8% owned by the Finance Ministry, runs the third-most popular local TV channel after army-owned Channel 7 and BEC World’s Channel 3.
“We project at least 10% top-line growth next year with TV advertising spending starting to show some signs of life over recent months,” he said.
“This year’s sale growth will also reach above our 4.4-billion-baht target.”
Mr Tanawat’s estimate was above the 4.8-billion-baht forecast by 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, who predict 2010 revenue to rise by 8.5%. The company’s revenue is estimated at 4.42 billion baht for 2009.
“We’ve seen a pretty depressed ads market in the first half with advertisers skittish and confidence falling,” he said, adding that ad spending fell by about 7% from a year earlier.
MCOT has a market value of 15.8 billion baht, second on the Stock Exchange of Thailand to BEC World with 43 billion.
The country’s first TV broadcaster, which has been on the air since 1955, is vulnerable to big shifts in TV advertising which generates about 60% of its overall revenue. But its prospects are improving as the economy pulls out of a tailspin.The ratings tracker Nielsen Media said advertising spending on MCOT’s Modernine grew by more than 14% in July and August, the biggest rise among Thai TV stations and surpassing the industry growth of 4.1%.
MCOT shares closed yesterday on the SET at 22.90 baht, down 10 satang, in trade worth 13.4 million baht. The stock has gained 80% this year compared to a 64% rise in the market.
Next year, MCOT plans to introduce several new projects including mobile TV and internet protocol TV via broadband (IPTV), while developing a new technology which would bring broadcast services to cell phones.
Analysts said the company expects to earn 25% to 30% of its total sales from this new segment within four years.
In late 2007, MCOT co-operated with South Korea’s SK Telecom Co Ltd in a trial of digital terrestrial TV broadcast under the 58-band UHF system for mobile service users and fixed service users, he said.
MCOT, which would spend about one billion baht in 2010, plans to raise advertising rates of some TV programmes in the first quarter of 2010, Mr Tanawat said, adding its average advertising rate is still relatively low at 310,000 baht per minute.
MCOT recently signed a joint operation contract for pay-TV services with True Corp’s TrueVisions, and will get 6.5% of True’s advertising revenue each year, he said. REUTERS
Published: 22/10/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/26076/mcot-sees-10-revenue-rise
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