Overview:
The announcement, signed by Managing Director and CEO Mr. Don Wanyama, appeared in the Thursday edition of New Vision. It was made pursuant to Rule 38(3) of the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) Listing Rules 2025, which mandates listed companies to disclose material changes that could significantly affect their financial performance.
New Vision Printing and Publishing Company Limited (Vision Group), Uganda’s leading media conglomerate, has issued a formal profit warning, cautioning shareholders, potential investors, and the general public that the company expects to post a loss for the financial year ended June 30, 2025.
The announcement, signed by Managing Director and CEO Mr. Don Wanyama, appeared in the Thursday edition of New Vision. It was made pursuant to Rule 38(3) of the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) Listing Rules 2025, which mandates listed companies to disclose material changes that could significantly affect their financial performance.
“Based on the preliminary assessment of the company’s performance, the results of the Company’s earnings for the Financial Year ended June 30, 2025, will be a loss position,” the notice stated.
Challenging Business Environment
The company attributes the expected loss to a combination of factors, chiefly:
- Declining newspaper sales
- Reduced advertising revenue due to a shift in advertiser spending to alternative platforms
- Rising operational costs, especially prices of raw materials
The media industry in Uganda, like elsewhere globally, has been undergoing structural transformation, with traditional revenue streams such as print advertising facing disruption from digital platforms. For Vision Group, which publishes New Vision, Bukedde, and other newspapers, these industry-wide shifts have intensified financial pressures.
“The main contributor to this performance is the challenging business environment due to media newspaper sales and advertising revenue spend across different platforms that is still recovering,” the company explained.
Commitment to Recovery
Despite the tough outlook, Vision Group’s board and management have reaffirmed their commitment to turning around the company’s financial performance. The statement assures stakeholders that strategic measures are being explored to stabilize operations and adapt to the changing media landscape.
Broader Context
Vision Group’s warning comes amid broader economic pressures in Uganda, including inflationary pressures on production inputs and shifting consumer behavior driven by digital trends. As traditional media houses contend with shrinking print circulation and an increasingly fragmented advertising market, the need for innovation and diversification of revenue streams has become critical.