APN Outdoor hopes to convert up to 150 of its printed billboards to digital as it drums up investor support during its first week of trading.

The outdoor media company has maintained its opening share price after its first week, up five per cent to $2.67 from its $2.55 IPO price and down three per cent from its opening price of $2.75 last Tuesday.

According to the company’s financial statements released with the IPO, APN Outdoor had revenue of $225.9m in the 2013 calendar year and expects $245.5m by the end of this year, and for profit to jump 25.8 per cent to $22.1m.

[Related: More outdoor news]

The company cites digital as a major factor in its growth, saying it will have 34 digital billboards by the end of the year and 51 by the end of 2015.

It says 150 of its printed billboard sites have the potential to be converted to digital and has no plans to increase its number of printed billboards, though it upgraded 150 smaller ones to a more visible LED backlit format and says another round of upgrades is possible.

It also hopes to convert more of its cross track advertising sites at train stations to digital with full motion video capabilities, adding to its 66-screen initial roll-out.

APN Outdoor says digital offers advantages for advertisers including immediacy, creative flexibility, higher quality presentation, and higher audience engagement.

It is also considering expanding into other areas like retail and street furniture as it looks to capitalise on rapid growth in out-of-home media.

The public float saw private equity firm Quadrant reduce its ownership from 94 to 20 per cent and bank $329m, making a tidy profit on its $269m investment when it acquired APN Outdoor from APN News & Media.

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter