SINGAPORE — MediaCorp has posted a 42.1 per cent decline in operating profit for the year ended March, partly because of a weak advertising market and investments in new product lines.

Operating profit fell to S$25.7 million from S$44.4 million a year earlier. Group revenue fell 1.3 per cent to S$621.3 million.

Net profit before tax was S$55.7 million, including a gain on disposal of investment of S$28.6 million.

“The global economic softening in 2012 hit MediaCorp’s business as marketers started cutting back on advertising spent,” CEO Shaun Seow said.

“We responded by offering our partners even more innovative marketing solutions that cut across the multiple media platforms and touch-points we own. Despite the drop in advertising revenue, we continued to invest heavily in content production and digital assets as we are committed to the long term. Toggle, our over-the-top TV service, is one such investment to enable us to stay relevant in the face of new media consumption patterns.”

Other launches during the year include the ME Club loyalty initiative to reward audiences with exclusive privileges, music portal Meradio.sg that allows downloads and unlimited streaming, fashion portal StylexStyle and ME@OUE, a new unique gourmet dining experience under the stars.

As part of its youth engagement efforts, MediaCorp also took a majority stake in Malaysian digital games publisher Cubinet Interactive.

“Technology is shrinking the world which means media companies are no longer competing in specific markets but globally. This presents both a threat, as well as opportunities to MediaCorp,” Mr Seow said.