The group's net income nearly quintupled to $63.36m in H1 2024, driven by strong performance and significant margin improvements, especially at Shahid, which saw AVOD revenue more than double and continued growth in subscription revenue.
MBC Group has announced a net income of SAR 237.8m ($63.36m) for the first half of 2024, marking a 359.8% increase compared to the same period last year. The net profit margin improved significantly to 10.8%, up from 2.6% in H1 2023, driven by revenues of SAR 1,999.7m ($532.79m), a 10% year-on-year (YoY) increase.
Sam Barnett, MBC Group’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are pleased with the performance of MBC in the first half of 2024. By continuing to invest in quality content and engaging platforms, we have been able to attract and retain audiences across our various markets. The performance of Shahid was particularly encouraging driven by a strong Ramadan period while maintaining its forward momentum in terms of both subscribers and advertising revenue – overall, Shahid’s revenues were up 40.8% in the first half of the year. In parallel, our traditional broadcasting activities and regional partnerships have remained critical parts of our business success as evidenced by a robust 20% revenue growth compared to the same period last year. As we look to the rest of the year, we are focused on increasing audience engagement and delivering value for all our stakeholders.”
This revenue growth was largely fueled by strong performances in the Broadcasting & Other Commercial Activities and Shahid segments, which saw YoY revenue increases of 20.4% and 40.8%, respectively. Shahid’s advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) revenue more than doubled to SAR 116m ($31m), with its subscriber base growing by 36% YoY to 4.61m users as of June 30, 2024. These gains helped offset a 38.5% YoY decline in revenues from Media & Entertainment Initiatives (M&E) due to variations in revenue recognition and project timelines.
On a quarterly basis, MBC’s core segments grew 5% YoY despite the high base effect of Ramadan occurring mostly in the second quarter of 2023. The overall Group revenue, however, declined by 11.6% YoY due to the M&E segment’s downturn.
MBC Group recorded a gross profit of SAR 698.9m ($186.21m) in H1 2024, up 55.9% YoY, with a gross profit margin expanding to 31.8% from 22.4% in H1 2023. This increase was driven by higher value extraction from commercial activities across all segments, particularly Shahid. Quarterly gross profit also rose by 22.9% YoY, with the margin expanding to 36.7%.
Net profitability improved across all segments, with Shahid significantly reducing its losses by 84.7% YoY. The M&E segment showed modest margin improvements with new projects. In Q2 2024, MBC Group posted a net profit of SAR 116.4m ($31.01m), up 66.5% YoY, and the net profit margin increased from 6.4% to 12.1%.
The Broadcasting & Other Commercial Activities segment saw a 20.4% revenue increase YoY in H1 2024, reaching SAR 1.34bn ($358m). This growth was driven by broadcasting and technical services, which doubled to SAR 484.5m ($129.09m), and TV revenues, which grew by 5.2% to SAR 751.4m ($200.20m), including a 3.5% increase in advertising revenue.
Shahid recorded a 40.8% YoY revenue growth in 1H 2024 to SAR 557.3m ($148m), driven by both subscriber and advertising revenue growth. The platform added over 630,000 new subscribers, reaching 4.61m by the end of June 2024. AVOD revenues more than doubled to SAR 116m ($31m).
The M&E Initiatives segment generated a net income of SAR 6.9m ($1.84m) in H1 2024, benefiting from ongoing government project initiatives. MBC Studios produced notable content, including the feature film The Lamb and the series Autumn in My Heart, and documentaries on Al Ahli Football Club and Unión Deportiva Almería.
MBC Academy continued to develop Saudi talent, training over 8,200 individuals and offering more than 1,900 virtual courses in H1 2024. MBC Iraq and MBC Cinq maintained strong viewership in their respective markets.
The construction of the MBC Narjis Studio is progressing well, with the first studio set to open in Q3 2024. By the end of 2024, Narjis will host 200 employees, expanding to 450 by the end of 2025.
