Property cooling measures the culprit behind SPH’s declining advertising revenue

Adspend slipped 5% in 2Q15.

Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH) advertising revenue is an unlikely victim from the country’s stringent property cooling measures.

According to a report by UOB Kay Hian, the measures created a huge dent in SPH’s advertising revenue as launches and property-related ads dried up.

“Our monthly page monitor of The Straits Times suggests advertising spending contracted 5% yoy in 2QFY15 (Sep-Nov 14) vs a reported advertising revenue contraction of 9% yoy in 1QFY15. SPH’s advertising revenue would see the full negative impact of the total debt service ratio (TDSR) measures imposed by the government at end-Jun 13 to curb property purchases. This caused a major negative impact on property launches and property-related advertising,” stated the report.