Ooh Media delivers full-year profits after a ‘disappointing first half’
Ooh Media has delivered a net profit of 8.5% for 2024, as it points to increased momentum in the current calendar year and beyond.
The company delivered revenue of $635.6 for calendar year 2024 (CY24), up a modest 0.3%.
Gross profits were up 3.9%, EBITDA jumped 3%, and the company’s net profit after tax was 8.5%, due in large part to the lowering of production and media site costs by $14.4 million compared to 2023.
Divided into sectors, Ooh’s retail offerings fell by 9% – due largely to the company losing the Vicinity contract and its 60 supermarkets – while road billboard revenue dropped a modest 1%, which Ooh credited to a comparatively strong 2023.
Street furniture and rail revenue grew 3%, with the second half of the year seeing the Sydney Metro launch, and 224 new digital panels added across Sydney and Melbourne’s rail networks, both of which saw the sector achieve a 8% year-on-year surge during the final six months of 2024.
Fly revenue rose 14% due to the Melbourne Airport rollout, while ‘City and Youth’ revenue jumped 18%, due to the partial return of CBD office audiences.
Ooh’s CEO, Cathy O’Connor, said the company “took action to drive revenue and market share growth and right-size our cost base” after what she deemed “a disappointing first half” of the year that saw net profit after tax down 10%, and revenues down 3%, from the first half of 2023.
O’Connor noted Ooh’s momentum has “accelerated” during the current year, with 14% year-on-year revenue growth for the first three weeks of February.
“The focus on successful execution of our strategy is expected to accelerate our growth ambitions: energising our go-to-market, unlocking the full potential of our network and leading in retail media,” she said.
Despite losing the Vicinity shopping centres contract, Ooh – and in particular its retail media offering Reo – has recently won three big contracts: Australia Post, Petbarn, and Officeworks, which O’Connor said is “a validation of our retail media offering”.
O’Connor and Ooh Media point to the long-term growth of the out-of-home category as a whole – which surpassed 15% of the total advertising market during 2024 – and its own position as the market leader.
In addition, “further tailwinds” from future interest rate cuts and market growth, plus long-term contracts held by the company – with 50% of these not due to expire until 2029 and beyond – has Ooh Media feeling confident.
CY25 adjusted gross margin is “expected to be broadly in line with CY23/24” while the capex is expected to be between $45 million and $55 million, which will largely be spent funding new advertising assets.
The board declared a final dividend of 3.5 cents per share, fully franked, bringing the full year dividend to 5.25 cents per share, fully franked, which reflects the company’s “financial strength and confidence in the trading outlook”.
Editor’s note: Mumbrella has changed the way it deals with company names. House style is now to use standard proper noun capitalisation on all names regardless of brand typography. Brand typography may be retained in direct quotes from releases.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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