Enero, the owner of BMF, Orchard and Hotwire, reported a fall in revenue for the year to June but posted a 54% lift in net profit after tax to 6.4 million on the back of cost cutting.
Revenue dropped 7% to $129.5 million, driven by challenging international technology market conditions and the transformation at Hotwire.
CEO Ian Ball said the group enters the year with a leaner and more automated operating model.
“We are relentlessly focused on delivering client value through deeper insights, faster innovation and continued creative effectiveness,” he said.
“Extending our implementation of AI will improve our cost base and productivity and position Enero strongly in this evolving environment.”
Creative agency BMF grew revenue 11% to $38 million.
The company said new BMF's business momentum is strong, with wins from Asahi Group and Superloop late in the year partly offsetting the loss of Westpac and Endeavour.
BMF “reshaped” its cost base to realign skills and capabilities to its client portfolio.
Orchard delivered a record year with net revenue growth of 9% to $28.2 million.
Hotwire, with lower, more volatile client spend, driven by clients’ AI investment and persistent softness in the technology sector, reported net revenue down 19% to $63.3 million.
“Our FY26 results demonstrate the strength of Enero's portfolio and the discipline with which we have managed it through a period of significant change in our industry,” said Ball.
“Record earnings at both of our Australian agencies, with Orchard also delivering its highest ever revenue, drove the group's profit growth and margin expansion, and those businesses now represent a considerably larger contribution to group earnings than they did a year ago.
“We have moved decisively to address the dynamic market conditions affecting Hotwire. The appointment of Grant Toups as Global CEO in January brought experienced leadership to the next stage of the agency's transformation and Hotwire has continued to win clients across both its core technology market and the adjacent sectors into which we are deliberately expanding.
“AI is now embedded in how each of our agencies works, from BMF's proprietary platform and Orchard's ‘Agentic by Default’ program to Hotwire's AI Lab, supported by infrastructure and governance we manage at Group level.
“Our ambition is not to apply AI to the way marketing services have always been delivered, but to use it to reinvent how this business operates, and our size allows us to move quickly. That capability is already delivering measurable returns for clients, and we will continue to build on it through FY27 and beyond.
“With three award-winning agencies, each with strong leadership and a distinct proposition, Enero is well placed to create long-term value for clients, attract exceptional talent and deliver strong returns for shareholders.”
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