Media profit: Nine Entertainment Co reports profit of $75m

Nine reported revenue of $659m and group EBITDA of $120m

Nine Entertainment Co has reported the company’s interim results for the 2017 financial year (FY17). For the six months, Nine reported revenue of $659m, group EBITDA of $120m and net profit after tax, pre specific items, of $75m.

Highlights for the period include:

• Dominant ratings performance post-Olympics
• Vastly improved ratings performance for the start of season 2017
• Continuing cost discipline across each division, with group-wide costs down 4%
• Growth in affiliate revenue
• 71% growth in registered users and 74% growth in catch-up streams at 9Now across six months
• Strong subscriber additions at Stan, especially over summer

Nine also disposed of its interest in Southern Cross Media (SXL) during the period for a pre-tax gain of $29m. The gain on sale is reported in “other comprehensive income”, as opposed to the Profit and Loss for the period.

Hugh Marks, chief executive officer of Nine Entertainment Co., said:

“Over the past year, we have made significant progress in rebuilding our free-to-air business. Nine Network won all primetime key demographics post the Olympics in 2016. And for the important start to season 2017, Nine’s audiences are up 13% and commercial audience share up 3.9 pts.

“Our on-demand businesses are growing strongly. Our AVOD platform 9Now has more than 2.9m registered users, providing a growing first-person database that enables our advertisers to target audiences and will ultimately deliver Nine higher yielding revenue. Our SVOD joint venture Stan is clearly the leading domestic player in a growing space with more than 700,000 active subscribers and heading towards positive cash flow during FY18.

“Our group-wide focus on costs has continued to reap rewards, with both overall and FTA costs down 4%.

“We are very pleased with the progress we have made in the past six months and have delivered on our commitment to compete more effectively in FTA television at the start of the 2017 ratings year. Our unique and complementary mix of television and digital assets continues to meet the changing needs of our audiences, providing an important and diverse foundation for Nine’s growth. And the hard work we continue to do on costs means we are highly leveraged to benefit from the flow-on effect of our audience gains on revenue share.”

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