MCOT secures growing revenues, net profit

BANGKOK, February 28 (TNA) - MCOT Public Company Limited (MCOT), a most established Thai media firm, secured its total revenue of 5.94 billion baht last year, when its net profit, thus, rose by 28 per cent year-on-year, boosted mainly by its growing advertisement earnings in all media channels. MCOT President Anek Permvongseni publicly reported the company's business performance on Thursday, pointing out that the total revenue increased by 12 per cent from 2011. Anek elaborated that MCOT's revenues from television businesses amounted to 3.52 billion baht last year, a 14 per cent year-on-year increase, with the company's earnings from TV programs, excluding those in news and cartoon programs, soaring by 55 per cent and revenues from commercials in news programs rising by 27 per cent. Anek noted that MCOT's revenues from new media, rents, advertisements on 15 channels of the C-band satellite MCOT Network and content production for 18 True Vision and GMM Grammy channels jumped by as much as 115 per cent last year, when the company's also earned from public relations programs broadcast for government and private agencies. Anek said that MCOT's revenues from radio businesses stood at 942 million baht in 2012, a 10 per cent increase from 2011 and came from event organization and advertisements, and that despite competition from cable TV channels and new media, MCOT radio stations are able to maintain their market shares in target segments. According to the MCOT President, the company's gross expense totaled 3.62 billion baht in 2012, a 12 per cent year-on-year increase, resulting from MCOT's growing operational costs of all media, especially television and new media, live broadcast of the 2012 Summer Olympics in the United Kingdom and Ku-band broadcasting. The MCOT top executive then announced that the company, therefore, posted its net profit of 1.77 billion baht, a 28 per cent year-on-year increase, and that the listed firm's earnings per share stood at 2.56 baht. (TNA)