Share price tumble – Television company grapples with losses - Voice of Asia

Fiji Television Ltd (FTV) shares have plummeted to a five-year low as the company's balance sheet continues to show losses, and it is now actively taking measures to reverse the situation.

The company is listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPX) under the ticker symbol FTV. Over the past five months, its share price has crashed by 100%, declining from FJD$2 per share for most of last year to a five-year low since November of last year.

Monthly trading data from the SPX shows FTV's share price experiencing double-digit percentage declines. It fell by 7% in November, 13.98% in December, 13.13% in January, and 20.86% last month, pushing the share price to a five-year low of FJD$1.10 per share.

As of this press release, Fiji Television's stock last traded at FJD$1 per share, once again hitting a five-year low. FTV is also the only company on the SPX with negative earnings per share (EPS) and price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. February figures show its EPS at -2.96 Fijian cents and its P/E ratio at -37.19.

Historical data from the SPX indicates that the company has been loss-making for the past five years, with diminishing reserves, a decline in net assets over the five-year period (from FJD$12.4 million in 2019 to FJD$6.4 million last year), and negative cash flow from its core business.

FTV reported a net loss after tax of FJD$2.7 million in 2020, FJD$2.3 million in 2021, FJD$480,000 in 2022, a profit of FJD$421,000 in 2023, and a loss of FJD$304,676 last year.

Attempts were made yesterday to contact Chief Executive Officer Sunjeewa Perera to understand the measures the company is taking to turn things around, but were unsuccessful.

However, in its interim report for the six months ended December 31, 2024, released last week, the FTV Board assured that they are "actively taking all necessary steps to improve the company's performance." The report stated: "Over the past twelve months, the company has implemented significant changes and improvements in its business model and processes. However, we also acknowledge that more needs to be done before profitability can be achieved."

The company announced a loss of FJD$677,262 for the six months ended December 31, 2024. Total turnover as of December 2024 was FJD$1.9 million, down from FJD$3.7 million as of December 2023.

FTV has over 420 shareholders, with Fijian Holding Ltd, through its subsidiary FHL Media Ltd, being the largest shareholder with a 59.39% stake.