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Group setting up $100m fund to invest in new-media businessesSINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) has said its full-year net profit fell 25 per cent to $431 million, mainly due to the adoption of a different accounting policy.儲存倉With the establishment of the SPH Reit, the group changed its accounting policy for investment properties from cost to a fair-value basis.As a result, SPH posted a fair-value gain of $111.4 million from its investment properties for the year ended Aug 31, down 43.9 per cent from the year before.Operating revenue for the year edged down 2.6 per cent to $1.24 billion.The media and property firm has proposed a final dividend of 15 cents a share, comprising a normal dividend of eight cents and a special dividend of seven cents.Together with the interim dividend of seven cents and special dividend of 18 cents announced earlier in the financial year, the total dividend payout is a record 40 cents.Revenue for the newspaper and magazine business fell 3.9 per cent to $991.2 million as both advertising and circulation revenue fell.Rental income at its retail properties, however, rose 3.5 per cent to $198.1 million, mainly due to higher rental rates at Paragon.SPH has a 70 per cent stake in SPH Reit, which owns Paragon and Clementi Mall.Full-year earnings per share slipped to 27 cents from 36 cents previously, while net asset value per share as at Aug 31 eased to $2.19 from $2.28 a year earlier.Faced with a challenging environment of changing media consumption trends, SPH chie迷你倉最平 executive Alan Chan said the company is studying new growth opportunities while exploring ways to reinvigorate its core media business.For example, the company has identified a list of cost-saving initiatives, such as making changes to its work flow to better utilise its printing presses.This series of projects, when implemented over the next year or so, is targeted at delivering $19 million in savings every year, Mr Chan said.SPH is also setting up a $100 million new-media fund to invest in media-related businesses.Up to now, the firm has mostly focused on major investments, such as ST701 and regional media websites "where we go in big and try to occupy the space", said Mr Chan.The new-media fund is targeted at taking smaller stakes, he said, which means that there will be smaller investments in different new media organisations. Mr Chan added that in the process, these technologies can be used to enhance SPH's existing business. "These investments will play a critical role to support our aspiration to be the leading multimedia company in Asia," he said.The firm's move to offer digital subscriptions for some of its newspapers has also helped to boost overall circulation.Total average daily circulation for The Straits Times has risen 15 per cent over the past year to 449,200, mainly due to an increase in digital subscriptions.SPH shares closed one cent lower at $4.12.The results were released after the market closed. SPH Reit shares rose half a cent to 97.5 cents.yasminey@sph.com.sg迷你倉