SPH records 7.5% rise in second quarter profits

SPH records 7.5% rise in second quarter profitsSingapore Press Holdings (SPH), the leading  Media and property company has said that it has recorded a 7.5 per cent rise in its net profit during the second quarter of the year.

The company's earnings were boosted by a one-off gain arising from a partial divestment of its stake in a regional online classifieds business. The company has said that its net profit for the three months till 28 February, 2014 recorded an increase to S$81.3 million compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

The earnings were boosted by the S$52.9 million extraordinary gain but the operating revenue recorded a fall of 1.2 per cent to S$278.8 million, according to SPH said. The company's key newspaper and magazine business recorded a fall of 5.7 per cent in revenues to 5.7 per cent to S$211.6 million in the quarter. The company said that it also recorded a fall in advertisement and circulation revenue of 6.6 per cent and 3.8 per cent, respectively.

The company said, "The Ministry of Trade and Industry has maintained the 2014 growth forecast for Singapore economy at 2 to 4 per cent. However, tepid growth in the major economic powers and concerns over an escalating geopolitical conflict continue to cloud the already modest economic outlook."