The $18.4 million first quarter revenue - which came as the company celebrates its first year operating as oOh! – was in stark contrast to the outdoor industry performance which posted a 9.2% decline for the first three months of the year.
The first quarter unaudited results also showed that revenue - including acquisitions - was up 20 per cent, EBITDA was up 612 per cent and Profit before tax was up 230 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008.
“Our results suggest that the new strategy we undertook when we re-launched as oOh!media last year and the subsequent business changes and new initiatives we made to be Australia’s most dynamic, progressive and creative out-of-home media company have worked well for us,” Mr Cook said.
“Despite the current economic climate, we have delivered positive results and we believe that oOh!media is structured for sustainable performance into the future – particularly with our regional and retail formats which have yet to reach full maturity.”
The initiatives undertaken over the past 12 months included:
• A new management structure aligned to clients and brands, including the introduction of dedicated account managers for agencies and product specialists;
• The introduction of new products, packages and inventory across the company’s six product areas - oOhroad!, oOhretail!, oOhmobile!, oOhregional!, oOhfactor!, oOhproduce!;
• Investment in new innovations such as the online toolkit, to make designing, planning and buying campaigns easier;
• an industry first in campaign accountability and client reporting with its million dollar program to deliver professional photography of campaign installs; and,
• new environmental measures to dramatically reduce its environmental footprint across its operations.
Mr Cook said the results also showed some surprising growth from certain industry sectors in the first quarter.
“As one would expect in the current economic climate, we experienced a 14 per cent growth in FMCG advertising revenues,” Mr Cook said.
“However, while many have forecast doom from the automotive industry, our first quarter results show a 48 per cent increase in advertising spend from this sector. We have also seen a sharp increase in Local, State and Federal Government advertising, which grew 27 per cent for the quarter.”
For more information: Peter Laidlaw on 61 (0)2 9692 8811 or 0419 210 306
About oOh!media Group Ltd: oOh!media is the only single focused out-of-home advertising company listed on the ASX. The Company specialises in the management and ownership of outdoor assets throughout urban and regional Australia. oOh!media is Australia’s largest outdoor media brokerage group.
