Media firm Nine Entertainment rises, first-half profit beats consensus

Nine Entertainment Holdings

25/02/2025 24:59

** Shares of Australian media giant Nine Entertainment Co
 NEC.AX  rise 5.2% to A$1.715
    ** NEC among top gainer in the ASX200 benchmark index
 .AXJO 
    ** NEC shares hovering near their 11-month highs it clocked
on February 21 after its 60%-owned entity Domain Holdings
 DHG.AX  received a $1.7 billion buy-out offer
    ** NEC reports 1H25 NPAT of A$112.2 million ($71.12
million), down 25% from last year but ahead of Visible Alpha
consensus A$88.8 million
    ** Interim dividend of 3.5 Australian cents per share is
ahead of consensus expectation of 3 cents apiece    
    ** Says there expects to be further restructuring into 2H25
and FY26
    ** Forecasts costs efficiencies through to FY27-end of more
than A$100 million, of which A$10-20 million will be realised in
FY25
    ** Says Nine's Total TV ad revenue in March quarter expected
to be up in high-single digits
    ** NEC up 38.5% this year, including the day's move

   ($1 = 1.5775 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru)
 ((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com;))