Important RJR update | RJR earnings per share for the six months improved to 4 cents compared with a loss of 6 cents in 2012. IC Insider has revised its forecast of earnings and is now forecasting 20 cents per share for the full year ending March 2013 and around 30 cents for 2014, which suggest that the price of the stock has room for growth from the current level of $1.34. It is quite possible that the group could be a big beneficiary of the popularity of Tessanne Chin’s success on the NBC The Voice with RE TV’s broadcast of the program, especially if Chin goes much further in the competition.
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RJR recently released results for the six months to September, but they have the exclusive rights to the telecast of the NBC The Voice program that features Tessanne Chin and is being telecast locally on RETV. Could she give the stalled bottom line a real kick in the butt? The next quarterly figures will shed some light on that.
The economic environment has not been kind for many in the communication sector. We have Cable & Wireless losing market share from high legacy cost, complacency and poor customer service plunging the operations in to huge losses stretching back for a number of years, then there is the staid and age-old Gleaner Company whose main business has not seen a profit for some time as both the state of the local and global economies has conspired against it, pushing up cost without a commensurate level of income.
Then there is RJR who raised capital to invest in a newspaper only to write-off all of it, plus their own old-fashioned management practises in some areas that has seen the once prominent and dominant AM radio loose its dominant market share. They are now fighting amongst the rest try to recoup market share from the new leader, Irie Radio.
Interestingly, all three of these companies were once very dominant in their respective markets but not so any longer. What went wrong and where will they be heading?
The un-audited results showed that RJR recording a profit in the 2nd quarter ended September, 2013 of $13 million and marginally more for the six month a profit of $14.6 million, which is a major turnaround from a loss of $23 million in the 2012 six month period and a small profit of $2.3 million in the 2012 September quarter.
Revenues | Operating revenues were down $21 million for the September quarter to $458 million but was flat for the six months at $899 million. Other Income showed a 63 percent increase for the six months to $52 million and 19 percent increase for the quarter to reach $17.5 million, resulting management said, “from new transmitter site rental income.”
The 2nd quarter performance was driven by a $29 million or 5.9 percent reduction in expenses for the comparative period in 2012 moving from $489 million down to $460 million.
Direct expenses fell $14 million to $212 million for the quarter and but was up $30 million for the six months; selling expenses were marginally down $2.6 million for the quarter and $9 million for the six months while administration expenses fell by $18 million to $84 million and by $21 million for the six month period to reach $183 million. Finance costs rose from $3 million in the six months to $11 million.
Earnings per share | RJR earnings per share for the six months improved to 4 cents compared to a loss of 6 cents in 2012, IC Insider is forecasting 13 cents for the full year ending March 2013 and around 20 cents for 2014, which suggests that the current price of the stock is fully valued at $1.30. It is quite possible that the Group could be a big beneficiary of the popularity of Tessanne Chin’s success on the NBC The Voice and could be a big boost for RETV. Management has also mentioned a new project that should be on stream before the end of the fiscal year but no details have been given.
At the end of September, there was $84 million invested in FIFA rights to broadcast and televise World Cup matches in Jamaica; $446 million of receivables or nearly one quarter’s revenues; cash funds of $230 million and payables of $223 million. Shareholders’ equity stood at $1.2 billion and long term loans increased by $226 million.
Related posts | Radio Jamaica’s sharp turn |C&W: Less jobs, more capital spend | Gleaner profits face major challenges
Photo courtesy www.nbc.com/the-voice/
[…] The combined entity will have revenues of J$5.2 billion and assets of just under $4 billion. RJR had profit of $113 million for the year to March this year and Gleaner had a loss of $57 million […]