KUALA LUMPUR: Seni Jaya Corp Bhd's registered lower net profit of RM498,000 in the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2022 from RM1.59 million a year ago.

Revenue jumped over sixfold RM8.56 million in Q1 2022 from RM1.33 million last year.

Chief executive officer Cheah See Heong said after a challenging 2021, the company is encouraged to kick-start 2022 on stronger footings.

Cheah said the reopening of the economy, coupled with the festive period, has reinvigorated consumer spending as well as foot and car traffic nationwide.

"These subsequently translated to an uptick in demand for out-of-home (OOH) advertising as witnessed in our improved top-line in Q1 2022," he said.

Aside from the favourable macro condition, Cheah said the better financial performance was also attributed to its business transformation plan which started in mid-2021.

Since then, he said the company has managed to grow its billboard inventory quite significantly through strategic collaborations and asset acquisitions.

"Particularly, the addition of more digital-based and mega-size billboards have helped boost our revenue as these ad spaces typically sell at higher price points," he said.

On prospect, Cheah said with the reopening of Malaysian borders, the company is seeing further increase in outdoor footfall and car traffic on the road.

Drawing from that, he said Seni Jaya anticipated greater advertisement spending from big brand names to capitalise on the pent-up demand.

"As one of the market leaders in the industry with a comprehensive billboard portfolio, we are the few in the market capable of supporting these large-scale outdoor marketing campaigns.

"Therefore, we opine a brighter future ahead for the company and are excited to continue our turnaround journey," he added.