TOM GROUP (2383) today announced its interim results for the six months ending in June, with revenue from ongoing businesses such as media and technology platforms increasing by 1% year-on-year to HKD 339 million, gross profit rising by 4.31% year-on-year to HKD 145 million, and gross margin increasing by 0.7 percentage points to 42.7%. Benefiting from lower financing costs and increased contributions from joint ventures, the loss attributable to shareholders from continuing operations narrowed by 31% year-on-year to HKD 96 million. Including the discontinued business merger plan, the loss attributable to shareholders during the period was only HKD 54.699 million, a year-on-year decrease of 78%, with no dividend declared.

During the period, TOM GROUP's investment in the e-commerce company operated by China Post, Youle, turned a profit, earning RMB 23 million. Despite facing challenges in consumer spending and business activities, the Taiwanese publishing group Chengbang still recorded a profit of HKD 19 million. Considering various factors including resource efficiency and capital allocation, the group sold its social media business Pixnet during the period, incurring a loss of approximately HKD 1 million from the sale. The advertising group in mainland China recorded a loss of HKD 600,000 during the period.

As for its investment in WeLab, which operates in China, Hong Kong, and Indonesia, and holds a 7.94% stake, it has over 70 million users and has facilitated over USD 15 billion in loans. It also continues to hold a 6.22% stake in the sustainable data and software provider Miaoying Technology. Due to ongoing losses, its cumulative net liabilities increased to HKD 1.696 billion, while cash and bank balances still reached HKD 495 million. Due to declining loan interest rates, the net cash outflow from operating activities after interest and tax payments narrowed from HKD 62 million in the same period last year to HKD 43 million