Media Chinese appoints four new directors

Media Chinese International Limited (MEDIAC, 5090) has recently announced the appointment of four new directors.

Tiong Yijia, Eugene Wong Khang Yen and Liew Sam Ngan have been appointed Executive Directors, while Ip Koon Wing is Independent Non-Executive Director.

Meanwhile, Media Chinese International Limited also announced the resignation of Executive Director Leong Chew Meng and Independent Non-Executive Director David Yu Hon To.

Bursa Malaysia information shows that Tiong Yijia joined Ming Pao Newspapers Limited in 2011, and is now the company’s Chief Strategy Officer.

Eugene Wong and Liew Sam Ngan are mostly responsible for Media Chinese International Limited’s Malaysian business.

Wong is currently the Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Sin Chew Media Corporation Berhad, and Group Chief Executive Officer of Guang Ming Daily, while Liew is Group Chief Executive Officer of Nanyang Press Holdings Berhad.

Return to profitability

In the statement, Media Chinese International Limited also announced a net profit of RM9,155,000 for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021, from a net loss of RM7,438,000 recorded a year ago. This was achieved mostly on cost savings and fair value gains from the revaluation of the Group’s investment properties in Malaysia.

However, the Group registered a net loss of RM5,402,000 for FY2021, from a net profit of RM29.25 million in FY2020.

The Group’s fourth quarter turnover stood at RM122,825,000, down 22.97% from the corresponding quarter last year, while the annual turnover slipped 51.64% to RM479,605,000.

0.41 sen per share dividend

The Board of Directors proposed an interim dividend of 0.41 sen per share, with ex-dividend and entitlement dates on June 18 and June 21 respectively.

The Group also said its fourth quarter businesses were badly hit by the resurging COVID-19 pandemic, with turnover of its printing and tourism businesses down by 12.3% and 99.4% respectively.

For the whole fiscal year, the Group’s publishing and printing business plummeted by 28.3% while the tourism business was sharply down by 99.8% owing to stalled international tourism.