Sing Tao web traffic increases

Sing Tao News Corporation (1105), the parent of The Standard, saw increased traffic in digital platforms last year due to restrictive measures and new modes of communication brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Standard reported an 89 percent increase in average monthly visitors, with 62 percent growth in average monthly page views on the website and social media.

Sing Tao Daily's website saw average monthly page views rise 34 percent.

The Standard saw a mild increase in readership in the second and third quarter of last year, according to Ipsos Media Atlas.

Sing Tao News Corp's revenue fell 34.56 percent to HK$825.7 million as the pandemic hit the local economy and advertisement industry. The company declared a final dividend of 2 HK cents per share.

Sing Tao incurred a net loss of HK$80.9 million in 2020, compared to a loss of HK$22.7 million a year ago.

With the implementation of mass vaccination campaigns, it is hoped that the pandemic will gradually abate and economies around the world will stage a rebound, but such a recovery is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and unevenness, the company said.

Sing Tao will adhere to its strategy of providing factual, objective and high-quality news and information, and will continue to be flexible and responsive in building on its new media capabilities to meet the different customer preferences during and after the pandemic, it said. At the same time, it will continue to adopt a cautious and prudent approach in managing costs, reallocating resources and maintaining financial resilience, it added.