Profits hit at Ooh Media as revenue rises
Ooh Media revenue increased 1 per cent on the prior year to $649m, but the company’s underlying net profit after tax was down 23 per cent on last year to $37.9m, for the full year ending on 31 December.
The owner of Cactus Imaging and one of the big two outdoor media businesses saw its underlying EBITDA was down 5 per cent to $139m, and its underlying NPATA was down 10 per cent to $52.4m.
Ooh CEO Brendon Cook said it was a tough year for media, with the overall market declining by an estimated 5 per cent.
“Following the difficult second and third quarters, we delivered a stronger performance and recovered share in the fourth quarter to deliver revenue growth,” he said.
The Ooh commute business (formerly Adshel, which Ooh acquired in 2018) saw revenue growth of 5 per cent over the year.
The Ooh road business, which encompasses its billboards, declined by 5 per cent for the year. The company saying the first half was impacted by the federal election in May, which caused a reduction in big-brand advertising, while the third quarter was adversely impacted by the weaker macro environment and unprecedented reduction in advertising spend.
However, an improvement in bookings in the fourth quarter resulted in positive pacing for that quarter with the second-half pacing down by 2 per cent versus 9 per cent in the first half.”
“We continued to successfully integrate commute into the wider business. Commute revenue grew ahead of the Ooh market. Commute is now our largest division by revenue and its strong performance in FY 19 demonstrates its significant contribution to enhancing our diversified asset portfolio and supporting our acquisition business case.”