The Standard Group Plc, the oldest media house in East Africa, has cut its half-year loss even as rapidly shifting audiences and media consumption patterns continue to hit the bottom lines of the Mombasa-road based outfit. Its unaudited financial statements for the six-month period ended 3oth June 2025, show improvements in its performance to a KSh 133 million loss from a net loss of KSh 200 million posted at the end of June 2024.
The former media giant posted a sharp decline in revenue, a drop of 25% to KSh 789.2 million compared to KSh 1.2 billion recorded in the first half of last year. Operating cash flows, however, improved slightly to KSh 189 Million, lifting cash balances to KSh 128 Million, from deficit territory as at end of June 2024. Cash generated from its operations declined from KSh 282.9 Million in June 2024 to KSh 241.3 Million at the close of June this year.
Earnings per share, which indicates a firm’s profitability has remained in negative territory from KSh 1.39 in June last year to KSh 1.25 at the end of June 2025. Total Shareholders’ Equity, what owners of the firm will be paid were the business to face liquidation, has also remained in negative territory, meaning its owners would be paid nothing if it shuts down today.
Its current assets are worth KSh 2.1 billion, this is less than the firm’s current liabilities which stood at KSh 5.1 billion at the close of the half year period ended June 30th 2025. At the Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE), SGL closed its trading on Thursday at KSh 6.28, a drop of 4.8% from its previous price of KSh 6.60, as investors anticipated the financial results.
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SGL’s subdued financial performance comes against the backdrop of suppressed consumer-spending on traditional media products such as newspapers and TV and Radio as audiences shift to digital platforms and other delivery channels. An uptick in its fortunes offers a ray of hope to employees who have endured salary delays for years as well as shareholders starved of dividends.
The latest entrant in this media space is the deep-pocked Safaricom, that has an SMS platform that issues the latest news alerts straight to the mobile phone.
SGL Board attributes the 24% revenue dip to slowed government contracts and reduced advertising revenue. Direct costs fell compared to 2024, helped by stable foreign exchange rates that lowered newsprint and electricity expenses. Overhead costs dropped 26%, driven by prudent cost management and efficiency initiatives.
Given the financial results, the Board did not recommend an interim dividend. To survive the onslaught of numerous digital media start-ups, SGL aims to go lean, cut costs and chase the media audiences to where they have shifted.
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