Bilboard giant APN Outdoor is driving ahead with its digital switch, with plans to digitise 150 of its printed billboards in the new few years on the back of rapidly rising digital revenue growth.
Announcing its FY14 results print revenue rose 3.5 per cent to $218.3m but the big gains were in digital which more than doubled with 140 per cent growth from $14.8m to $32.3m, as like both competitors oOh! Media and former owner APN the company moves to digitise its print assets.
The company plans to digitise 150 of its printed billboards in the new few years, with some 34 former print sites are already converted and another 17 to be switched by the end of this year.
It 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.
Although it recorded a loss for FY14 all other signs are headed in the right direction, revenue rose 11 per cent to $250.6m and EBIDTA is up 34 per cent to $45.3m and on track for $53.7m for FY15.
In its first annual report since going public in November, the outdoor media company reported a $12.2m loss for FY14, $1.2m less than expected, which was mostly due to 50 per cent higher finance costs of $11.9m costs associated with the initial public offering process.
Chief executive Richard Herring says APN Outdoor 'remain dedicated to our continued digitising of our inventory’.
The company saw a revenue growth of 9.7 per cent to $230.1m for its Australian operations, and 27.3 per cent to $20.5m for its New Zealand arm.
Herring says strong financial performance and market share gains reflect the growth strategy of the business together with positive outdoor industry advertising trends.
“APN Outdoor’s performance in 2014 was characterised by successful contract renewals and wins, and the results of establishing a first mover advantage and leadership position in large format digital screens in both Australia and New Zealand,” he says.
Herring says the end of the calendar year saw ‘good momentum’ for the business into 2015 and reinforced the company’s confidence in achieving their 2015 prospectus targets.
“We expect to see the outdoor media sector continue to outperform most other media sectors [in 2015].”
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