KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 28): Declining revenue from publishing and printing, and the travel segment hurt Media Chinese International Ltd in the first quarter ended June as earnings fell by a fourth to RM9.36 million against RM12.6 million a year ago.

A weaker ringgit and Canadian dollar (against the greenback) also had an impact of approximately US$1.63 million on Group turnover and US$127,000 on Group profit before income tax, said Media Chinese in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

Earnings per share for the quarter slipped to 0.54 sen against 0.74 sen last year.

Revenue was 12.68% lower at RM296.09 million from RM339.08 million in 1QFY19.

The media group expects market conditions to remain challenging and uncertain for the remaining quarters of FY20, owing to the continuing trade war between the US and China, the softening of the economy in South East Asia and Canada as well as the political unrest in Hong Kong.

“The group will continue its efforts to minimize the impact of these adverse market conditions on its earnings,” it said, adding, “Dedicated business teams have been set up to develop new revenue models to address the changing business environment.”

Shares of Media Chinese closed unchanged today at 17 sen, valuing the company at RM286.83 million. Over the past year, the counter has slipped 36% from 26 sen.