Bravo Transport Services, the parent company of Hong Kong bus companies Citybus and NWFB, has appointed Bravo Media, a subsidiary of the same company, as the agency for its outdoor and indoor advertising concessions on buses, effective November 1.
Citybus and NWFB have reached an agreement to terminate the existing contract with Bus Power under pre-agreed terms on November 1, 2021. Bravo Media will serve the remaining contract period to “ensure a smooth transition, financial guarantees and mitigate any business impact” . to be the sole outdoor and indoor advertising agency for the bus bodies of Citybus and NWFB until June 30, 2023. The two bus companies operate over 1,700 buses on over 300 routes in Hong Kong.
“Today marks a new chapter in the development of Bravo Transport Holdings as it expands into a dynamic new area of business. For our business partners and customers, we want to ensure a seamless transition and will work with the team of Bus Power to ensure this over the next few weeks. The new venture enables us to offer existing and new clients a one-stop “one-stop-shop” solution for agencies and clients and reinvigorate the media advertising market. across Hong Kong,” said Cliff Zhang, president of Bravo Transportation Operations.
Meanwhile, Bison Finance Group, parent company of Bus Power, announced the termination of the contract with Citybus and NWFB on October 26 as well. Bus Power will pay a termination fee of HK$50,715,775 to bus companies, according to a statement by Bison Finance Group.
Bison Finance Group said, as reported in its 2021 Interim Report, that media segment revenue was approximately HK$64.9 million for the first half of 2021, representing a decrease of approximately 48.0 % compared to approximately HK$124.9 million for the same period in 2020. In addition, the Media segment recorded an adjusted loss before financial expense, income tax, depreciation and amortization (LBITDA) of approximately 18 HK$.4 million for the first half of 2021, representing a decline of approximately 68.3% from an adjusted LBITDA of approximately HK$58.0 million for the first half of 2020.
The company added that the pandemic had severely affected Hong Kong’s economy. Various travel restrictions and quarantine measures had stopped many economic activities. Subsequently, the sales performance of customers in the media sector was hit hard. In a sluggish market and high unemployment, media clients reduced their advertising spend given the short-term economic outlook.
Companies shifting their resources from offline traditional platforms to online platforms was another reason for the further reduction in media sector revenue. The company said that due to continuous losses in the media segment since 2020, it decided to terminate the contract with two bus companies.
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