Investors in Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.’s shares, trading near their lowest level in about three decades, showed little reaction to the company’s latest round of job cuts.
The newspaper-to-real estate firm has reduced 140 people, or 5% of staff from its media business as the coronavirus pandemic erodes advertising sales, it said in a statement after yesterday’s market close.
The job reductions will cost about $8 million, the company said, while adding that its real estate unit’s construction, rentals and valuations are also suffering due to the virus-induced economic downturn.
Shares in the media group have lost half of their value this year and been dropped from the benchmark Straits Times Index. The stock fell as much as 1.8% before trading little changed. Still, trading volume was only about a fourth of its 3-month average.
Here are some comments from analysts:
Still Waiting for Good News
“We have not seen any positive result from its efforts to transform the media business,” said Yi Sin Ngoh, an analyst at CGS-CIMB Securities International Pte. Another concern is the possible devaluation of the company’s investment properties at the end of the fiscal year, she said.
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Rental Income is Key
“From a revenue point of view, SPH is more of a property company than a media one so an economic recovery brought by the gradual re-opening in tourism and business will underpin its rental income,” said Margaret Yang, a strategist at DailyFX. “The media business will continue to remain soft.”
‘Rock Bottom’
The latest retrenchments won’t have any impact on the shares as the company has continually been right-sizing its media business, said Joel Ng, analyst at KGI Securities (Singapore) Pte. “Its valuations are already near rock bottom, hence we believe downside risk is minimal.”
