GTN Limited (GTN.AX) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the GTN Limited Full Year Fiscal Year '25 Financial Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to hand the conference call over to Mr. Peter Tonagh, Chair. The floor is yours, sir.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our overview of GTN's performance in the 2025 fiscal year. FY '25 was a year of exceptional shareholder returns despite a very challenging advertising market. From a shareholder perspective, we're proud to have delivered a 48% increase in our share price from July 2024 to June 2025, to have delivered a dividend yield of over 9% in dividends paid for the year and to have agreed a capital return of $0.23 per share, which was approved and subsequently paid in August. These outcomes demonstrate our disciplined capital management and our commitment to returning value to shareholders. At year-end, GTN held net cash of $21.1 million after paying $8.2 million in dividends, retiring $8 million of bank debt and returning $5.2 million through share buybacks. It was this strong cash position, together with our new debt facility, which enabled us to deliver a significant capital return of $0.23 per share in August 2025, resulting in a more efficient leverage position for our business. Fiscal year '25 also marked a significant milestone with Viburnum becoming our majority shareholder. Viburnum is a long-term GTN shareholder with deep knowledge of our business and their additional support provides strategic backing and capital strength as we enter the next phase of GTN's journey. Looking ahead, our long-term strategy remains unchanged: to nurture and grow our core radio and television affiliate relationships; to deliver a compelling, unique, highly engaging proposition to our advertising partners; and to actively manage our cost structure, including through ongoing rollout of new technologies, including AI. I'm thankful to our highly capable country leaders and their teams and our small but effective global support team. With these teams in place and our corporate transformation largely complete, we're well positioned to continue delivering shareholder value in fiscal year '26 and beyond. I'll now hand over to Vic Lorusso to talk through the operating performance.

Thanks, PT, and good morning, everyone. Fiscal year '25 presented significant macroeconomic challenges with geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions weighing in on global advertising markets. However, despite these headwinds, GTN delivered operational resilience while continuing to position the business for future growth. Net revenues were $180.2 million, down 2% from the prior year and adjusted EBITDA of $16.6 million reflected both market pressures and one-off costs associated with corporate activity and the ATN rebranding. Our diversified geographic footprint provided a natural hedge against local market volatility. BTN's local currency revenues grew 2% through Australian dollar revenues, though Australian revenues declined 8% due to foreign exchange movements. GTN U.K. AUD revenues increased 2%, supported by stronger sterling, while local currency revenues fell 2% and CTN revenues declined 5% in local terms, 7% in Australian dollars, impacted by trade policy and some uncertainty. ATN, a strong first half performance was offset by macroeconomic pressures and delayed interest rate decisions in the second half, resulting in a 2% revenue decline compared to FY '24. In parallel with managing external pressures, we advanced a number of initiatives designed to strengthen our platform. We've expanded and extended key affiliate agreements. We've added Fuel Watch and multicultural audio partnerships at ATN. We've enhanced our sales systems and processes to drive productivity. We've conducted comprehensive cost reviews across all markets to protect margins while preserving revenue potential. These actions position GTN strongly to capture growth as advertising markets stabilize and recover. While near-term conditions remain uncertain, our strengthened operations, scalable cost base and diversified portfolio provide a solid foundation for future growth. Together with my fellow country heads and executive team, we're united in our ambition to position GTN for growth in FY '26. I'd like to thank my colleagues across all the regions and their leadership through challenging conditions and our shareholders for their continued confidence in GTN strategy. I'll now hand over to Ben Brooks to take us through the detailed financials.

Thanks, Vic, and good morning, everyone. For FY '25, revenue decreased 2% to $180.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $16.6 million, down from $22.3 million in FY '24, reflecting both lower revenues and one-off corporate costs. NPAT was a loss of $6.1 million compared to $5.7 million in FY '24, with the variance driven by noncash impairment of a subsidiary for about $10.3 million. Our balance sheet remains very strong. As at June 30, GTN held net cash of $21.1 million. During the year, we eliminated $8 million of bank debt, returned $5.2 million to shareholders through buybacks and paid $8.2 million in dividends. We also executed a capital return of $0.23 per share in August 2025, which was funded through available cash balances and a drawn down on our bank facility of $35 million. Underlying the strength of our financial position, our net debt position as at August 2025 is $11.6 million. We have optionality for further capital management initiatives and to invest in future growth opportunities. I will now hand back to Peter.

Thanks, Vic and Ben. So with strong affiliate relationships and experienced leadership across all of our markets and a solid balance sheet, we believe GTN is well positioned to deliver value as conditions improve. We are grateful to our shareholders for your ongoing support, and we look forward to updating you again at our half year results. This concludes our prepared remarks, and we'll now open the call for questions.

[Operator Instructions] The first question we have will come from John Burgess of RaaS Research.

Just interested with your -- I guess, the yield situation where the yields are sort of coming off again, your views on like managing your inventory, actually reducing inventory to increase yields rather than trying to increase yields in a tough advertising market.