Nine Entertainment lifted revenue 2% to $2.67 billion in the year to June as the media group looks for opportunities with its cash from the sale of its stake in Domain
Net profit after tax fell 10% to $194.4 million but second half EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) grew by 8%, underpinned by the performance of streaming and broadcast.
Total television revenue was up 3% to $1.16 billion. 9Now coupled with growth in broadcast TV market share more than offset the impact of the weak broadcast advertising market.
Streaming revenue, through 9Now, grew by 19% to $225 million.
The company said the total TV market remains "very short".
In September, total TV advertising revenue is expected to be broadly flat on the same time last year, with double digit growth at 9Now, offsetting a low single digit decline at Nine broadcast TV.
Nine's September quarter audio advertising revenue is expected to fall by high single to low double digits.
"I am pleased with Nine’s performance in FY25, particularly in the second half, where we recorded growth in profit in both Streaming and Broadcast and Publishing - driven by strong audience performance and firm cost management,” said CEO Matt Stanton.
“At the start of 2025, we accelerated our program of increased operating effectiveness through our strategic transformation program, Nine 2028, generating additional cost savings in FY25.
“We also rolled out our refocused operating model aligning the business across three key verticals - Streaming and Broadcast; Publishing; and Marketplaces.
“We restructured our executive team, bringing a great depth of talent into our core businesses and made strong progress against our cultural transformation including the completion of four further Cultural Action Plan recommendations.
“In May, Domain reached an agreement with CoStar, which resulted in the sale of our 60% stake in Domain at a price which was a significant premium to the pre-bid Domain share price.
“We are pleased with the value this has released, enabling us to return significant capital to our shareholders on a tax effective basis, as well as strengthen our own balance sheet.
“We believe that Nine is the natural media partner for marketplace content and are continuing to explore opportunities in this space.
“There are clear opportunities to grow the business - Streaming and Broadcast through an increased penetration of the digital video market reflective of our growing audiences; Publishing on the back of continued growth in digital subscription revenues and commercial agreements with the global platforms; and Marketplaces through both investment in Drive and expanding partnerships.
“We continue to be energised by the opportunities of the Nine businesses - through our premium content, growing audiences and market-leading data proposition and are well positioned to remain at the forefront of media in Australia.”
The media group’s share from its 60% holding in Domain is expected to be A$1.4 billion in cash proceeds, net of capital gains tax.
The company intends to distribute a portion of that to shareholders via a fully franked special dividend of between 47 and 49 cents a share.
Numbers for the year to June:
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