Asiaray Media Group optimistic of growth in second half of 2021

Asiaray Media Group, owners of advertising media space in airports, metro lines, billboards and building solutions in the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macau, and Southeast Asia said that the market is showing great recovery in 2021. With respect to the advertising market in the mentioned region, gradual growth was experienced, which, according to a report from CTR Market Research, expanded by 27.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021.

The revenue of the Group for the six months ended 30 June 2021 increased from approximately HKD643.7 million to approximately HKD983.6 million, representing an increase by 52.8%. The increase was primarily derived from the revenue in the airport segment due to from the impact of economy rebounds in Mainland China, and the termination of lockdowns and passenger restrictions during the period. The combined revenue of the group, which includes the consolidated revenue of the group and the total revenue of the Group’s associated companies engaged in the media business as an operating information, reached approximately HKD1.37 billion.

The metro and billboards segment increase by 58.9% from approximately HKD222.6 million in the corresponding period of 2020 to approximately HKD353.7 million in the same period. This was primarily attributable to the increase from metro lines and billboards in Mainland China. The increase was due to the new metro lines in Shenzhen and Kunming.

The airports segment increased by 9.5% from approximately HKD346.9 million in the corresponding period of 2020 to approximately HKD379.9 million. The increase was due to the impact of economy rebounds in Mainland China. The bus and others segment revenue increased by approximately HKD175.8 million or 236.9%, from approximately HKD74.2 million in the corresponding period of 2020 to approximately HKD250.0 million in this period, which was primarily attributable to the bus segment acquired since the second quarter of 2020 in Hong Kong but offset by the drops of the agency business in respect of sales of advertising spaces in media resources operated by associated companies

Amid improving conditions in Mainland China and Hong Kong, the group secured several new projects during the period, leading to a surge in revenue of 52.8% to HKD983.7 million, with gross profit margin at 15.9%. Combined revenue, which includes consolidated revenue and revenue from all associated companies, amounted to HKD1.37 billion (2020: HKD953.9 million), recorded an increase of 43.6%.  However, since a number of newly awarded projects were still at a ramp-up stage, and owing to the impact of accounting standard IFRS16 on new projects and ongoing challenges pertaining to COVID-19, the Group incurred a net loss of HKD113.7 million. Nonetheless, the group remains in a net cash position for the seventh consecutive year, with total cash and bank balances amounting to HKD360.4 million, representing a sufficient capital for further expansion.

Owing to strict safety measures and COVID-19 containment protocols, Mainland China has experienced a rapid economic recovery. Asiaray says that with people having changed their way of life and grown accustomed to the new normal, this will add momentum to further economic expansion as a whole. Asiaray is therefore optimistic about its business development in the country in the second half year.

In Hong Kong, local residents have adapted to hygiene and social distancing requirements, and with gradual progress being made in the COVID-19 vaccination front, the group believes that socioeconomic activity will return to normal in the second half of this year. It therefore remains sanguine about the Group’s long-term prospects in Hong Kong.

The group will continue to invest in technologies, including those for expediting digitisation, so as to enhance both the user experience and engagement as well as create opportunities for expanding its revenue streams. Going forward, O&O media will remain the principal focus of the group to capture the market trend and an area of expertise that will pave the way to fresh opportunities. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, people have gradually grown accustomed to their new lifestyle due in part to greater engagement with the online media. The group will fully utilise its capabilities and ample experience to capitalize on this rising trend.

With its successful track record of delivering impactful O&O initiatives combined with ongoing investments in relevant technologies, Asiaray will be able to exceed the expectations of clients as they enhance engagement with their target audiences. This will enable the Group to further build trust with such clients, enhance its financial wellbeing through higher profit services, and reinforce its leading market position, it added.

In line with the group’s strategic transformation, which commenced in 2018 catalysed by the Google Marketing Platform and led to the creation of the first programmatic DOOH media execution in Hong Kong, Asiaray has continued to make investments that are conducive for generating synergies between OOH and online media, so as to also reinforce its pioneering position in the relevant business sectors. In 2020, the Group partnered with Magnite (formerly known as Rubicon Project and Telaria) to initiate DOOH programmatic trading, in order to offer advertisers more flexibility and to further penetrate and capture greater shares of the Hong Kong and Singapore markets.

The group also entered other partnerships this year with The Trade Desk to provide more data-driven advertising to audiences around the world, and Hivestack, one of the world’s leading full-stack programmatic DOOH platforms. These collaborations enable Asiaray to lift up its exposure by fostering close connection between offline DOOH and programmatic advertising, and consequently, to provide more media options for advertisers. Moreover, armed with “mega transport, multi-media and full ambience capability” advantages as well as innovations in digitisation, Asiaray has extended its reach to diverse audience groups by launching several exceptional campaigns via various programmatic buying platforms, which it says has achieved outstanding results.