The Standard Group has posted a loss before tax of Sh147 million for the half-year ended June 30, 2023, compared to the loss before tax of Sh428.9 million posted the previous year.

The troubled Group recorded a net loss of Sh102.9 million for the first six months of 2023, compared to the net loss of Sh300.2 million it posted for a similar in the previous year.

The Kenyan media firm also posted an 8 per cent decline in revenue to Sh1.26 billion, owing to slashed advertising spend by businesses to weather the tough economic environment.

The financial results released by the Board of Directors gave shareholders a glimpse of the myriads of challenges and strategic blunders the Group has made affecting its performance.

In the same period, the Standard Group recorded a decline in total revenue to Sh1.26 billion compared to the Sh1,37 billion it generated in a similar period the previous year in review.

Standard laid off workers at the start of 2023 in cost rationalization efforts on operating expenditure slashing total costs by 22 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.

Similarly, Standard Group's operating costs experienced a significant increase to Sh1.7 billion compared to the 1.3 billion the media company posted for a similar period in 2022.

The media company has not declared any dividend per share during this period with these figures reflecting the major financial challenges the group faced during the first half of 2023.

The Group's total assets amounted to Sh4.5 million, a slight decrease from Sh4.9 million recorded at the end of December 2022, signifying a possible shift in its investment portfolio.

The Group shareholders' equity decreased to Sh4.3 million from Sh4.5 million recorded for the financial year ended December 31, 2022.