Ooh Media profit hit by $30m charge after Auckland Transport contract loss

Ooh Media has posted strong revenue growth in its first half results, although the company took a one-time profit hit after losing its Auckland Transport contract.

Marketing company Ooh Media has taken a financial hit following the business’ unsuccessful bid to keep its advertising contract with Auckland Transport, according to its 2025 first-half result posted today.

The ASX-listed business reported total revenue of A$336.2 million ($369.24m) for the half-year ended June 30, 2025, up 17% compared to the prior comparable period, driven by a strong performance in road, street furniture, rail and fly segments.

Adjusted gross profit for the business grew by 13% to A$140.6m, with Ooh confirming that new contract wins contributed to 20% of total revenue growth.

Ooh Media’s underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (ebitda) increased by 27% to $62.2m, while its underlying net profit grew 46% to $26.5m.

However, after including the non-cash impairment of A$25m worth of goodwill and A$5m in identifiable intangibles related to the Auckland Transport contract, the business reported a statutory net loss for the half of A$11.3m.

Ooh Media managing director and chief executive officer Cathy O’Connor said the business delivered a strong first-half performance.

“Out-of-home remains the best-performing channel in Australian media, and with our market leading portfolio of over 35,000 assets reaching 98% of metropolitan Australians weekly, we are well positioned to continue our strong momentum in a rising market,” O’Connor said.

“The win of Transurban’s Melbourne and Brisbane motorway contracts during the period demonstrates our capability to secure and retail premium assets. It has added 42 premium motorway sites to our network, further cementing our market leadership position in all five capital cities.”

O’Connor did not reference the business’ loss of the lucrative Auckland Transport contract to MediaWorks last month, which accounted for 4% of the business’ calendar-year revenue.

The business said the impact was not material to the group’s operations and that it would be partially mitigated by targeted cost reductions.

Looking ahead to the rest of the calendar year, the business said third-quarter revenue was up 5% year-on-year, with August and September improving after a soft July. Australia is stronger at 6% growth.

Excluding retail and New Zealand, the business is expecting market-share growth for the remainder of the year as new assets from contracts announced in 2023 and 2024 come online.

The company’s second-half adjusted gross margin is expected to improve on the first half, with full-year adjusted gross margin to be roughly 44%.

Full-year operating costs are expected to be between A$159m and A$161m, with an additional A$1m expected in restructuring costs for the New Zealand business in the second half.

The business is also reducing costs in New Zealand by $6m to $7m on an annual basis from the fourth quarter of this year.

An interim dividend of A2.25 cents per share was declared by the business’ board, representing a 29% increase on the prior year.

Ooh Media’s share price was down 10% on the ASX following the announcement to A$1.59.

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.