Ooh Media upgrades earnings forecast as bookings improve for Q4
Ooh Media released a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) this morning, announcing it had improved its earnings forecast for FY19, with a rise in bookings for September and quarter four to thank.
The improvement comes four months after the business dropped its full-year profit expectations to between $125m and $135m, falling from an earlier guidance of $152m to $162m. The guidance has now been revised to $138m to $143m.
Ooh Media has revised its forecast for FY19
The initial downgrade came shortly before Ooh Media’s half-year results, causing its share price to drop 27.5%. The half-yearly result posting saw the media business experience a 90% drop in profits.
Ooh Media owns Junkee Media and bought street furniture business Adshel in 2018.
In the ASX statement, Ooh Media said that while spending had dropped across the third quarter, improvements in the latter half of the year had turned forecasts around. The report also said the integration of the Adshel business, now Commute, was on track and had resulted in $16m of cost synergies.
Tough market conditions are a theme across the media industry currently. The October Standard Media Index (SMI) agency spend reporting saw ad spend back 8.5% for the month, quietening thoughts the market could improve for the latter half of the year.
In November, Ooh Media was forced to release an ASX announcement denying a management buy out was on the cards for the business, after a report ran in The Australian speculating founder Brendon Cook was working on a plan and was on the hunt for private equity.
