The MCA-owned Nanyang Press Holdings is not making any profit as claimed by certain quarters but is actually running at a loss, said a party leader today.

MCA central committee member Wong Mook Leong said one must "read between the lines" in order not to be misled by the figures recently released by Nanyang Press' new owner, Huaren Holdings.

Yesterday The Star reported Huaren as saying that Nanyang Press made a profit before tax and exceptional item of RM1.65 million.

The breakdown of the RM1.65 million profit, quarter by quarter was reported to be: July-Sept 2000: +RM2.07 million, Oct-Dec 2000: +RM1.59 million, Jan-Mac 2001: +RM410,000, and Apr-Jun 2001: -RM2.42 million.

However, Wong said for the last quarter, the actual loss exceeded the RM2.42 million as announced and amounted up to about RM5.4 million.

This was because the management overlooked the exceptional items involved such as retrenchment, he added.

"Unless you don't take into account of exceptional items such as retrenchment and tax, of course you can always make a profit. It's a matter of representation," said Wong at a special media briefing in Kuala Lumpur.

Huaren which is MCA's investment arm took over Nanyang - the publisher of two Chinese dailies in late May.

It was reported earlier that Nanyang Press recorded a pre-tax loss of RM5.68 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, compared with a net profit of RM21.75 million the year before.

Out of the total loss for this fiscal year, RM2.38 million was said to be compensation for eight senior editorial staffers who were asked to leave Nanyang Press following the acquisition.

Leaders divided

Since MCA took over the company, party leaders have been divided over the profit-loss status of Nanyang Press.

Recently, party president Dr Ling Liong Sik claimed that the circulation of Nanyang Siang Pau published by Nanyang Press was soaring and the fiscal year was "turning into the blue".

However, party vice-president Chua Jui Meng was quoted by Utusan Malaysia last week saying that Nanyang Press did badly for the last fiscal year because the Chinese community opposed its takeover by MCA.

Huaren now holds a 92.14 percent stake in Nanyang Press following the closure of the unconditional mandatory general offer on Aug 17 for the shares it did not own then. Huaren paid RM5.50 per share for a 72.35 percent stake in Nanyang Press in May.

In late August, Huaren was given six months by the Securities Commission to dilute its stake in Nanyang Press to 75 percent in order to retain its listing status. The Nanyang counter has been suspended at RM5.40 per share since Aug 20.

Currently, among the local media companies, only Star Publications and Pemandangan Sinar seem to have reported profits as the others are still struggling to break even.

The poor performance of newspaper companies is said to have resulted from a drop in circulation and the high cost of newsprint.