Australiaâs leading radio and audio business company, HT&E Limited (ASX:HT1) posted annual results for the Fiscal Year 2018. Its statutory revenue from continuing operations was up 5 percent to $271.8 million, and EBITDA from continuing operations before exceptional items was up 7 percent to $71.8 million, in FY18 mainly in line with expectations. The results pushed the stock up by 0.587 percent to last trade at $1.715 on 13 February 2019.
It has been a transformative year for HT&E with the sale of its out-of-home business Adshel to oOh!media for $570 million with the view to focus on the companyâs core Australian radio and audio assets. Â
The company launched three new breakfast shows on KIIS 101.1 and GOLD 104.3 in Melbourne and 96FM in Perth, and a new national Drive show commenced across the KIIS network. This took the companyâs Statutory NPAT attributable to shareholders to profit of $225.5 million, compared to a loss of $117.5 million in 2017.
On the back of debt-free and robust balance sheet, the company declared a final dividend of 4 cents per share, taking the full year 2018 dividend to 79 cents per share. The final dividend is slated to be paid on 15 March 2019 with the record date of 25 February 2019. At 31 December 2018, the Group had net assets of $572.1 million with parent entityâs interest in the net assets decreased by $50.5 million during the year.
Moreover, its Conversant Media business was integrated into ARN in 2018. The company told that âThe Roarâ is now a dedicated content vertical within the ARN team that will deliver Australiaâs largest user-generated sports content across audio, broadcast, social and digital platforms and provide new commercial opportunities. Also, during the year, the companyâs iHeartRadio app was integrated into voice-activated products to accelerate the platformâs availability across a range of devices.
 A virtual and augmented reality media business, Unbnd, owned 50% by HT&E, made substantial progress in developing its platform, which the company expects to launch early in 2019. Going forward the company aims to achieve the corporate cost reduction and simplification of the companyâs organizational structures in 2019. Further, the buy-back announced by the company in November for up to 10 per cent of issued capital is reportedly expected to be completed in mid-December 2018.
At the end of the year, HT&E had $128.4 million in cash on its balance sheet, compared to $115 million in net debt at 31 December 2017.
HT&E Limited that stands for Here, There & Everywhere is an Australia-based media and entertainment company. HT&E primarily operates audio, radio and digital business across Australia. As of 13 February 2019, the market capitalisation of the company stood at $486.95 million.
HT1 stock has witnessed a positive price change of 46.15 percent over the past 12 months despite the decline of 14.11 percent in the last three months.
Disclaimer
This website is a service of Kalkine Media Pty. Ltd. A.C.N. 629 651 672. The website has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to be used as a complete source of information on any particular company. Kalkine Media does not in any way endorse or recommend individuals, products or services that may be discussed on this site. Our publications are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold. We are neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice.