Photon Group shares improve despite flat profits update

Tim Burrowes

November 12, 2010 8:49

Photon Group shares surged today as the company issued a market update saying that the company’s finances were in similar shape up to the end of October as they were a year before, and that more agencies had been closed to find cost efficiencies.

There appeared to be a surge of buying just before noon that helped take Photon Group shares up from today’s opening of 6.5c to a close of 7.8c – a rise of 20% for the day. This was driven by a second surge of trading at around 2pm. Photon made its announcement to the ASX at 12.31pm.

In the update, the company said that overall, its EBITDA earnings for the financial year to date were $22.3m, down just fractionally on the same period last year. The company’s revenues were $126.3m, also down slightly on the same period last year.

However, EBITDA profits at the company’s field marketing division – which had been run by Stewart Bailey until his departure last month – fell by 15% compared to the same period last year. EBITDA in the international and search marketing divisionw as down by 36%, which the company said was down to poorer results from Naked Communications and The Leading Edge.

The company also revealed further closures and mergers.

Brand activation agency Brass Tacks has had its staff and clients absorbed into Kaleidoscope and ISS Marketing. The update did not say if there were any redundancies although it pointed to “cost efficiencies”.

And market research company Auspoll has been merged with The Leading Edge.

The company’s AGM is a week next Tuesday.

Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.

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3 COMMENTS

Anonymous 15 Nov 10

Those field marketing numbers you report are wrong. The announcement stated field marketing earnings were UP 9% on last year – down 15% on the year before.

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mumbrella 15 Nov 10

Hi anonymous,

You may be reading it differently to me. I take it that earnings are up on the last period (which isn;t always the best comparison point), but not on the year-to-year period. The phrase is “down 15% from the same period in FY2009”.

Cheers,

Tim – Mumbrella

Steve 15 Nov 10

Hey Tim,

It says ‘Net Revenue in the Field Marketing division is up 3% on the prior corresponding period’ which is clearly last year, ‘and EBITDA is up 9%’ referring to the same period. Then ‘however down 15% from the same period in FY2009’. The corresponding period in FY2009 (ie the year ended 30 June 2009) is July 2008 to October 2008, two years ago.

They are pointing out that it’s better than last year but that last year wasn’t a particularly good one for that division.

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