BANGKOK--DEC 6--TRIS
THAI RATING AND INFORMATION SERVICES (TRIS) AFFIRMED 6 DECEMBER A
"BBB" RATING FOR NATION MULTIMEDIA GROUP PLC'S (NATION) 1,000 MILLION BAHT
SENIOR DEBENTURES. THE RATING REFLECTS NATION'S CONTINUING POSITION AS
THE COUNTRY'S LEADING PROVIDER OF BUSINESS DAILIES AND ITS COMPETENT
MANAGEMENT. ITS MAJOR DAILIES, THE NATION AND KRUNGTHEP TURAKIJ, HAVE
DOMINATED THEIR MARKET SEGMENTS AND BUILT UP STRONG READERSHIP BASES,
CLAIMING THE LARGEST CIRCULATIONS IN THEIR NICHE MARKETS. HOWEVER, THE
GROUP'S OPERATING PERFORMANCE IS DEPENDENT UPON FLUCTUATING NEWSPRINT
PRICES AND CYCLICAL ADVERTISING DEMAND.
IN 1995, NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING COMPANIES WERE VULNERABLE TO SHARP
INCREASES PRICES AND SLOW GROWTH IN ADVERTISING DEMAND CAUSED BY AN
ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN. NATION, HOWEVER, WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN ITS OPERATING
PERFORMANCE AND WAS LESS AFFECTED THAN MANY PUBLISHERS. CURRENTLY,
NATION'S PROFITABILITY IS GRADUALLY IMPROVING BECAUSE OF A STEEP DECLINE
IN NEWSPRINT PRICES. GOING FORWARD, THE BENEFITS OF THE GROUP'S PREVIOUS
COST-CUTTING MEASURES AS WELL AS AN INCREASE IN COVER PRICE AND AD RATES
SHOULD START TO EMERGE AND EARNINGS SHOULD ALSO STRENGTHEN. IN A POSITIVE
MOVE, NATION SOLD PART OF ITS PROPERTY OPERATION, NATION PROPERTY CO.'
LTD. AND NOW HOLDS AN 18% STAKE. THIS IMPROVED ITS BUSINESS POSITION BY
LOWERING ITS EXPOSURE TO THE HIGH RISK PROPERTY BUSINESS. NATION'S
CONSOLIDATED TURNOVER REACHED 1,370 MILLION BAHT IN 1995, AN AVERAGE
INCREASE OF 20% ANNUALLY OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS. THE GROUP'S KEY
STRENGTHS LIE IN ITS PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES WHICH CONTRIBUTED 75% OF GROUP
EARNINGS IN 1995. ITS TWO PRINCIPAL PUBLICATIONS, ARE DOMINANT AND
FIRMLY-ENTRENCHED IN THE ENGLISH AND BUSINESS SEGMENTS WITH DAILY
CIRCULATIONS OF 55,000 COPIES OF THE NATION AND 75,000 COPIES OF KRUNGTHEP
TURAKIJ. NATION'S COMPETITIVE EDGE INCLUDES ITS NATIONWIDE NETWORK,
SUPPORTEDLY BY SATELLITE-TRANSMITTED PRINTING SYSTEMS IN THE REGIONS.
THIS MARKETING STRENGTH GIVES STRONG COMPETITIVENESS IN TAPPING THE
PROVINCIAL MARKET. IN THE FUTURE, NEWSPAPERS WILL STILL FACE THE
CHALLENGES OF MAINTAINING HOUSEHOLD PENETRATION, CONTROLLING POTENTIAL
COST INCREASES AND HALTING THE SLIDE IN MEDIA MARKET SHARE. ALSO, NEW
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES MAY EVENTUALLY CAPTURE SOME OF THE NEWSPAPERS'
MOST PROFITABLE ADVERTISING CATEGORIES.
WITH 25 YEARS IN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING, NATION HAS DIVERSIFIED AND
BECOME A FULLFLEDGED MEDIA PROVIDER IN AREAS OF PROMISING GROWTH. ITS
EARNINGS FROM TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING HAVE SHOWN STRONG GROWHT
IN RECENT YEARS. ITS EARNINGS FROM TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING HAVE
SHOWN STRONG GROWTH IN RECENT YEARS. PRESENCE IN THESE TOP THREE
ADVERTISING BROADCASTING HAVE SHOWN STRONG GROWTH IN RECENT YEARS.
PRESENCE IN THESE TOP THREE ADVERTISING MEDIA GIVES NATION THE OPPORTUNITY
TO ACQUIRE LARGER ADVERTISING SHARE WITH A BROADER CUSTOMER BASE. IT ALSO
OFFERS MARKETING FLEXIBILITY FOR AD SALES, INCREASES DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
FOR INFORMATION AND REDUCES COSTS OF NEWSGATHERING. GREATER EARNINGS FROM
BROADCASTING ACTIVITIES HELP MITIGATE THE ADVERSE IMPACT FROM HEAVY
RELIANCE ON PUBLISHING. NATION'S OPERATING RESULTS HAVE WEAKENED
MODERATELY. OPERATING PROFIT MARGINS DECLINED TO 17% COMPARED TO OVER 20%
IN THE PAST. THIS PERFORMANCE PARTLY REFLECTS EARNINGS IMPROVEMENT FROM
TV AND RADIO BROADCASTING. EARNINGS AND CASH FLOW ARE LIKELY TO IMPROVE
OVER THE NEXT YEAR. FROM A PEAK OF 60% IN 1995, DEBT LEVERAGE IS EXPECTED
TO SLIGHTLY IMPROVE DUE TO ONGOING PROJECT INVESTMENT. CASH FLOW TO DEBT,
CURRENTLY AT 15% SHOULD ALSO IMPROVE. END.
NOTE: NATION MULTIMEDIA GROUP PLC(NATION) TRIS'S RATING
NATION#1: 1,000 MB SR DEBS DUE 1999 BBB
THAI RATING AND INFORMATION SERVICES (TRIS) AFFIRMED 6 DECEMBER A
"BBB" RATING FOR NATION MULTIMEDIA GROUP PLC'S (NATION) 1,000 MILLION BAHT
SENIOR DEBENTURES. THE RATING REFLECTS NATION'S CONTINUING POSITION AS
THE COUNTRY'S LEADING PROVIDER OF BUSINESS DAILIES AND ITS COMPETENT
MANAGEMENT. ITS MAJOR DAILIES, THE NATION AND KRUNGTHEP TURAKIJ, HAVE
DOMINATED THEIR MARKET SEGMENTS AND BUILT UP STRONG READERSHIP BASES,
CLAIMING THE LARGEST CIRCULATIONS IN THEIR NICHE MARKETS. HOWEVER, THE
GROUP'S OPERATING PERFORMANCE IS DEPENDENT UPON FLUCTUATING NEWSPRINT
PRICES AND CYCLICAL ADVERTISING DEMAND.
IN 1995, NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING COMPANIES WERE VULNERABLE TO SHARP
INCREASES PRICES AND SLOW GROWTH IN ADVERTISING DEMAND CAUSED BY AN
ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN. NATION, HOWEVER, WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN ITS OPERATING
PERFORMANCE AND WAS LESS AFFECTED THAN MANY PUBLISHERS. CURRENTLY,
NATION'S PROFITABILITY IS GRADUALLY IMPROVING BECAUSE OF A STEEP DECLINE
IN NEWSPRINT PRICES. GOING FORWARD, THE BENEFITS OF THE GROUP'S PREVIOUS
COST-CUTTING MEASURES AS WELL AS AN INCREASE IN COVER PRICE AND AD RATES
SHOULD START TO EMERGE AND EARNINGS SHOULD ALSO STRENGTHEN. IN A POSITIVE
MOVE, NATION SOLD PART OF ITS PROPERTY OPERATION, NATION PROPERTY CO.'
LTD. AND NOW HOLDS AN 18% STAKE. THIS IMPROVED ITS BUSINESS POSITION BY
LOWERING ITS EXPOSURE TO THE HIGH RISK PROPERTY BUSINESS. NATION'S
CONSOLIDATED TURNOVER REACHED 1,370 MILLION BAHT IN 1995, AN AVERAGE
INCREASE OF 20% ANNUALLY OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS. THE GROUP'S KEY
STRENGTHS LIE IN ITS PUBLISHING ACTIVITIES WHICH CONTRIBUTED 75% OF GROUP
EARNINGS IN 1995. ITS TWO PRINCIPAL PUBLICATIONS, ARE DOMINANT AND
FIRMLY-ENTRENCHED IN THE ENGLISH AND BUSINESS SEGMENTS WITH DAILY
CIRCULATIONS OF 55,000 COPIES OF THE NATION AND 75,000 COPIES OF KRUNGTHEP
TURAKIJ. NATION'S COMPETITIVE EDGE INCLUDES ITS NATIONWIDE NETWORK,
SUPPORTEDLY BY SATELLITE-TRANSMITTED PRINTING SYSTEMS IN THE REGIONS.
THIS MARKETING STRENGTH GIVES STRONG COMPETITIVENESS IN TAPPING THE
PROVINCIAL MARKET. IN THE FUTURE, NEWSPAPERS WILL STILL FACE THE
CHALLENGES OF MAINTAINING HOUSEHOLD PENETRATION, CONTROLLING POTENTIAL
COST INCREASES AND HALTING THE SLIDE IN MEDIA MARKET SHARE. ALSO, NEW
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES MAY EVENTUALLY CAPTURE SOME OF THE NEWSPAPERS'
MOST PROFITABLE ADVERTISING CATEGORIES.
WITH 25 YEARS IN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING, NATION HAS DIVERSIFIED AND
BECOME A FULLFLEDGED MEDIA PROVIDER IN AREAS OF PROMISING GROWTH. ITS
EARNINGS FROM TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING HAVE SHOWN STRONG GROWHT
IN RECENT YEARS. ITS EARNINGS FROM TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING HAVE
SHOWN STRONG GROWTH IN RECENT YEARS. PRESENCE IN THESE TOP THREE
ADVERTISING BROADCASTING HAVE SHOWN STRONG GROWTH IN RECENT YEARS.
PRESENCE IN THESE TOP THREE ADVERTISING MEDIA GIVES NATION THE OPPORTUNITY
TO ACQUIRE LARGER ADVERTISING SHARE WITH A BROADER CUSTOMER BASE. IT ALSO
OFFERS MARKETING FLEXIBILITY FOR AD SALES, INCREASES DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
FOR INFORMATION AND REDUCES COSTS OF NEWSGATHERING. GREATER EARNINGS FROM
BROADCASTING ACTIVITIES HELP MITIGATE THE ADVERSE IMPACT FROM HEAVY
RELIANCE ON PUBLISHING. NATION'S OPERATING RESULTS HAVE WEAKENED
MODERATELY. OPERATING PROFIT MARGINS DECLINED TO 17% COMPARED TO OVER 20%
IN THE PAST. THIS PERFORMANCE PARTLY REFLECTS EARNINGS IMPROVEMENT FROM
TV AND RADIO BROADCASTING. EARNINGS AND CASH FLOW ARE LIKELY TO IMPROVE
OVER THE NEXT YEAR. FROM A PEAK OF 60% IN 1995, DEBT LEVERAGE IS EXPECTED
TO SLIGHTLY IMPROVE DUE TO ONGOING PROJECT INVESTMENT. CASH FLOW TO DEBT,
CURRENTLY AT 15% SHOULD ALSO IMPROVE. END.
NOTE: NATION MULTIMEDIA GROUP PLC(NATION) TRIS'S RATING
NATION#1: 1,000 MB SR DEBS DUE 1999 BBB