Outdoor advertising company APN Outdoor said the thriving out of home market has produced an unexpected 50 per cent jump in profits from last year.
Outdoor advertising company APN Outdoor said the thriving out of home market has produced an unexpected 50 per cent jump in profits from last year.
In a market update as part of its half-year results announcement, the company, which listed last year on the ASX, said it expected to end the year with profits of more than $68 million, compared to the prospectus forecast of $53 million.
The Australian Outdoor market has continued to grow solidly and above expectation. As a result of our current view of H2 market conditions, APO has revised its pro forma EBITDA forecast for the year ending 31 December 2015 to between $68m and $69.5m against the Prospectus forecast of $53.7m. This result reflects an increase on the previous corresponding period of just over 50%.
The update also stated that the company remains on track to deliver 17 new large format digital panels in 2015.
Since listing on the ASX a year ago, APN Outdoor has seen its share price grow by more than two thirds, with the company valued at $715m at close of trading on Thursday.
The Outdoor Media Association last week announced that the out of home sector had seen 13.1 per cent growth in the past quarter, compared to the same period last year, with year to date revenue up 16.8 per cent to $462.9m. Total outdoor audiences are up 37% over the last five years, according to latest data.
“It is a very healthy sign for the Australian OOH industry to see consecutive years of growth in audience,” said Craig Cooper, investment director at Starcom MediaVest. “In a year which has shown significant audience decreases within the television and print media channels, OOH has cemented themselves as a powerful and solid media choice for advertisers in 2015 and beyond.”