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Vision Group, Uganda’s largest multi-media company, last week released its full-year results for the year ended June 2022, reporting a 36% jump in gross revenue.
The industrial-area-based Vision Group reported that turnover in 2022 touched the UGX 111.4 billion mark, compared to UGX 81.9 billion in 2021. This is the first time, the company is crossing the UGX100 billion mark in its over 35 years of history.
The increase in revenue, however, came at a stiff cost—the cost of sales increased by 47.7% from UGX59.9 billion to UGX88.4 billion.
The company, in a statement, said this was largely due to a UGX24.9 billion for printing published educational materials/books. However, the company reported that it was able to reduce administrative and other operating expenses by 7.3% from UGX19.5 billion in 2021 to UGX 18.0 billion in 2022.
As a result, there was a UGX1 billion growth in gross profit from UGX22 billion last year to UGX 23.0 billion in 2022. Profit before tax was UGX1.7 billion compared to a UGX0.9 billion pre-tax loss in 2021.
Profit after tax was UGX 1.0 billion in the year 2022 compared to a loss of UGX 1.0 billion in 2021.
These are Don Wanyama’s first full-year results since he was appointed in April 2021.
One of the key highlights of this period is Don’s ability to rebalance the Group’s portfolio, reducing reliance on traditional media. According to the results, Vision Group derived 34% of its revenue from print media in 2022 compared to 49% in 2021. 27% of 2022 revenue was from electronic media, compared to 36% in 2021. Revenue contribution from commercial printing remained stable at 14% while for the first time, 24% of the revenue was from publishing.
Elsewhere in the Ugandan media industry and across the continent, traditional media has come under huge pressure from online media and as a result, is losing consumers and advertisers.
How well he maintains this rebalanced revenue strategy, moving forward will largely determine the Group’s performance, moving forward.
As a result, the Directors have proposed proposes a dividend of UGX 6.46 per share for the year ending 30 June 2022. The company didn’t pay a dividend for the year ended 30th June 2021.
About the Vision Group
New Vision Printing & Publishing Company Limited started business in March 1986 and was listed on the Uganda Stock Exchange in November 2004. The Group is majority-owned by the Government of Uganda which owns 53.3%. The public holds the remaining 46.7%.
Before the pandemic, the company hit UGX91.8 billion and a profit before tax of UGX 4.9 b in the FY 2019/20. But with the onset of the pandemic, Group turnover for 2020/21 reached an 8-year low of UGX81,924,708. The Group made a loss of UGX985.5 million, probably the lowest net earnings ever, since it was listed in 2004.
The Group has 7 Newspaper titles (New Vision, Saturday Vision, Sunday Vision, Bukedde, Bukedde Lwomukaaga, Bukedde ku Sande and Kampala Sun (www.kampalasun.co.ug) and 6 Television Stations (Bukedde TV1, Bukedde TV2, TV West, TV East, Wan Luo and Urban). It also runs 6 Radio Stations (X FM, Bukedde FM, Radio West, Radio Etop, Radio Rupiny and Arua One FM). Vision Group also runs a commercial printing service, under the brand “Vision Printing”, publishing services under Vision Publishing and digital publishing under the New Vision Digital Experience brand.