Kenya's Nation Media Group says 2017 pretax profit, revenues fall

By George Obulutsa NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Nation Media Group said on Wednesday its full-year 2017 pretax profit fell 21 percent to 1.95 billion shillings ($19.45 million), with overall revenue also dropping. Nation, the biggest publisher in East Africa, also operates in Uganda and Tanzania and runs radio and television stations in addition to its newspaper business. Stephen Gitagama, its acting chief executive officer, told an investor briefing that total revenues were down 6 percent from 11.32 billion shillings a year earlier, hurt by a drop in advertising revenues, especially in Kenya where a prolonged election period led to businesses holding off spending. Wilfred Kiboro, the company's chairman, said the group also faced a challenge in late payments from the Kenyan government, and between 2015 and 2017, the amount owed had risen to about 700 million shillings. "One of the greatest challenges we encountered in 2017 was government debt," he said. Kiboro also said that there were no plans for Nation Media to be sold to anyone. "Nation Media Group is not for sale," he said. ($1 = 100.2500 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Omar Mohammed, editing by Louise Heavens)