Nine Entertainment has released its results for the 12 months to June 30, 2024. For the period, Nine reported Revenue of $2.6b and a Net Profit After Tax of $134.9m, which included a post-tax Specific Item expense of $81.5m. Group EBITDA, before Specific items, of $517m was down 12% on FY23, reflecting markedly weaker economic and advertising market conditions. Profit After Tax and Minorities, before Specific Items, was $189m, which compared with $262m in the previous corresponding period.
Nine has shown growth in total television audiences throughout the year, providing a strong foundation for confidence in the revenue outlook once the advertising market improves. Notably, the company leads in Total Television revenue share in FY24, setting the stage for continued success.
In terms of digital and subscription revenue, Nine achieved a 5% increase in subscription and licensing revenues (excluding Domain), which now accounts for 31% of wholly-owned Group Revenue. This growth is evident in both the Publishing and Stan segments, highlighting the company’s expanding footprint in these areas.
Domain has also made significant contributions, with a 32% increase in its EBITDA contribution to Nine. This growth is driven by a 4% rise in new "for sale" listings and an 18% increase in Average Revenue Per Listing, reflecting the robust performance of the property market.
In the audio sector, the company experienced a remarkable 35% growth in digital revenue, bolstered by its leadership in live streaming audiences within the radio industry. This underscores the company’s ability to capitalize on digital opportunities and strengthen its position in the market.
Cost management remains a key focus for Nine, with $65 million in cost efficiencies delivered across the year, leading to lower group costs excluding Domain. Looking ahead, this emphasis on efficiency is set to continue into FY25, with an estimated $100 million in underlying cost reductions expected across FY24 and FY25.
Catherine West, Chair of Nine Entertainment Co. (Nine) said: “Nine has continued to perform well in a challenging market, remaining focused on delivering the best content to all Australians across multiple platforms. This performance reflects the focus and commitment of our people, who have worked hard through challenging times to further strengthen our competitive position. We have begun 2025 on a positive note, with a strong performance from an incredible Paris Olympics.”
Mike Sneesby, Chief Executive Officer of Nine stated: “In a year of challenging economic and advertising market conditions, there were some clear positives in this result. We have seen growth in our Total Television audiences this year as we have continued to invest in our content, standing us in good stead as we approach agency negotiations for CY25.
As we continue to focus on the diversification of our revenues, Subscription and Licensing at Nine’s wholly owned businesses, Stan and Publishing, together grew by around 5%, to more than 30% of Group revenue ex Domain. This is a positive performance, particularly against the backdrop of economic and competitive market conditions- of particular note, our Metro mastheads grew both overall subscription and digital revenues across the year.
Over the past couple of years, we have been focused on rebalancing our cost base. In FY24, Group costs (ex Domain) were down on FY23, notwithstanding underlying inflation, allowing us to continue to invest in the content, data and technology that generates returns and underpins our long term strategy and competitive position.
Our industry has been the subject of significant regulatory review over the past 12 months, including Prominence, Anti-Siphoning and gambling advertising. We have also seen the News Media Bargaining Code challenged as Meta demonstrates its intention to disregard the policy behind the Code. The common theme across the majority of these regulatory matters relates to the increasing dominance of global tech companies. The rate at which these companies are broadening and deepening their influence is becoming an increasing threat across a wide range of industries, including media, creating greater urgency for the Government to act quickly and decisively in the interest of all Australians.
As our audiences become increasingly digital and with the implementation of our new consumer data platform complete, the value of the combined media and data assets of Nine becomes clearer. As we bring these assets together with our Marketplaces businesses, Domain and Drive, there will be further opportunities to leverage the strength of the Nine Group and these content verticals.
Through the Olympics, and Paralympics which begin today, the power of Nine’s Integrated Audience Platform has come to life- with forty channels of amazing content available across FTA, 9Now and Stan, highlighted across Nine’s audio assets, mastheads and websites. The Olympics in Paris proved to be an enormously successful event for us and one that clearly demonstrates the merits of our strategy and significantly enhances our future positioning. Premium content coupled with cross product distribution and promotion creating a unique, integrated and complementary platform for both audiences and advertisers. This is our future as Australia’s Media Company.”
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