Nine Entertainment has swung to a $184 million annual profit after lifting advertising earnings across its major businesses.
The media giant reported revenue for the 12 months to June 30 lifted 8 per cent to $2.34 billion.
Nine, which operates the Nine Network, streaming service Stan and capital city mastheads The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review said earnings before, interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up 43 per cent to $564.7 million, driven mainly by a sharp rebound at its broadcast television business.
“Whilst this growth was consistent across both halves, the drivers in each half were quite different, highlighting the strength of Nine’s mix of advertising and subscription-based assets,” chief executive Mike Sneesby said.
The company’s broadcast business, which include television and radio, saw earnings surge 69 per cent to $332.5 million.
The group’s newspaper publishing division expanded earnings by 25 per cent to $117.2 million. It came thanks to growth in digital subscriptions and licence revenue and despite an 18 per cent decline in retail newspaper sales.
Earnings at streaming service Stan were up 27 per cent to $39.5 million, while those at online property classifieds business Domain increased 17.5 per cent to $100.6 million.
The company will pay a fully-franked final dividend of 5.5 cents per share, down from 7.0 cents a year ago. It will bring total dividend for the year to 10.5 cents per share.
-AAP
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