APN News & Media net profit of $22.6m
APN News & Media has today posted a statutory net profit after tax of $22.6m, up 77 per cent from $12.8m last year.
The media group, which has print, radio and assets, had revenue of $405.9m up 3 per cent on last year, with the company recording no dividend as expected.
APN also announced a new $630m debt facility as it seeks to refinance debts that were due to mature in 2015 and 2016 with a number of domestic and international banks.
The improvement in APN’s profits came on the back of a series of sales and acquisitions by the company which this year bought the other half of radio network ARN and also Hong Kong bus advertising firm Buspak, while selling 50 per cent of APN outdoor to private equity firm Quadrant Equity.
The company’s overall EBITDA was up marginally to $70.7m this year from $70.1m last year. The company’s outdoor division was the strongest performer in terms of revenue, which was up 12 per cent however, the division’s profit remained stable due to costs associated with Adshel’s recent Sydney trains deal.
“Adshel’s EBITDA was down on the prior year due to the investment and rent associated with its key Sydney Trains contract. However, this has resulted in good digital revenue growth; with advertising spending towards the end of the half,” said Michael Miller CEO of APN.
Source: ASX statement
The segmented results show the New Zealand division was down in local currency 13 per cent in revenue to $135.6m. EBITDA for the division was also down to $22.7m
“Although advertising markets remain challenging, APN’s second quarter performed better than the first. This gives us great confidence in our strategy of investing in talent, brands, digital infrastructure and a more integrated approach,” said Miller.
ARN was up 8 per cent in revenue to $81.2m with a EBITDA of $29m. The company reports also show that the one year old digital streaming service iHeart Radio has 480,000 registered users and that the app has been downloaded 650,000 times.
“We have a board that agrees on strategy and priorities and a management team which executes it well. Through both the results and refinancing, Michael Miller and has team have delivered a good outcome for our shareholders and positioned us well for the future,” said Peter Cosgrove, APN chairman. Last year CEO Brett Chenoweth and three board members resigned after disagreements over strategy.
Nic Christensen
What is going on with their newspapers?
10.5m half year profit??!
How many of the mastheads are losing money? Has to be a few.
They have 12 dailies. Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast, Rocky and Mackay all used to do more than 5m profit in the half.
To be an informed shareholder of APN, they need to give some clarity around each masthead because I would assume they are losing money on more than half their papers.
User ID not verified.