Figure 1: ANZ media share price changes August 2025 

Source: Firehawk

Key developments

Overall, the media sector in Australia and New Zealand struggled to maintain their positions over 2024 with the deterioration of economic conditions. The impact on advertising has depressed valuations for ad-dependent stocks in 2024, but share performance has generally improved as economic conditions improve.

Southern Cross Media

Southern Cross Media’s stock rallied by around 34.5% during August after the company delivered a strong FY25 result, underpinned by continued progress in its transformation strategy. Revenue rose 5% to $421.9m, while underlying EBITDA increased 34% to $71.1m and NPAT improved to $15.1m. Digital revenue was a key growth driver, up 29% to $45.1m, with LiSTNR reaching over 2.4m signed-in users, achieving positive EBITDA of $2m, and emerging as Australia’s leading digital audio platform. Cost discipline remained evident, with non-revenue-related expenses down 2.5% to $263.5m, while strong operating cash flows enabled net debt reduction of $40m to $67.6m, lowering leverage to 1.1x. A fully franked 4c dividend was declared. Looking to FY26, management guides to revenue of $435–440m and EBITDA of $78–83m, with further growth expected from digital audio and LiSTNR’s expanding scale.

NZME

NZME’s stock declined by around 6% during the month with the company releasing its 1H25 results, with the company delivering operating revenue of $165.7m, down 3% due to the closure of its community newspaper network, though operating EBITDA rose 12% to $23.9m. Statutory NPAT showed a small $0.4m loss after $5.2m of one-off restructuring and legal costs. Underlying NPAT increased 22% year-on-year. Strong momentum was seen in OneRoof, which lifted residential listings revenue by 16%, and in audio, where revenue grew 6% with podcast income up 13%. Digital subscriptions rose 5%, supporting publishing resilience. Free cash flow improved to $2.2m, and net debt was $33.3m, remaining within the target leverage range.

oOh!media

oOh!media’s stock fell by around 5% during August with the company releasing its half year results, where revenue was up 17% to $336.2m, adjusted EBITDA rising 27% to $62.2m, and NPAT up 46% to $26.5m. Dividends increased 29% to 2.25cps, underpinned by strong performances across Road, Street Furniture & Rail, and Fly. The balance sheet strengthened with gearing at 0.7x and net debt down to $105m. However, investor sentiment turned cautious due to a $30m non-cash impairment from the non-renewal of the Auckland Transport contract, softness in retail and city/youth segments, and higher flagged operating costs in 2H25, which tempered the otherwise strong growth outlook.

Figure 2: ANZ media valuation multiples August 2025

Source: Firehawk

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