Record revenue, EBITDA and trouble in retail: Ooh Media posts accounts

Nathan Jolly

February 16, 2026 9:55

Record revenue, EBITDA and trouble in retail: Ooh Media posts accounts

Despite taking a $30m one-time hit from losing the Auckland Transport contract, Ooh Media posted solid 2025 numbers with both revenue and EBITDA at record highs.

Group revenue for the calendar year 2025 was up 9%, to $691.4m. That is new high-water mark for Ooh, as is the year’s EBITDA of $328m. (See graph below – EBITDA is earnings before tax and other charges. Note that EBITDA is not Ooh’s preferred reporting metric, and they also provide adjusted EBITDA which takes lease payments into account and is much lower. Mumbrella maintains its reporting on EBITDA for consistency).

Billboards drove the largest portion, with the sector’s $237.1m revenue up 10% year-on-year. Street furniture and rail revenue increased by 11%, to $226.4m, boosted by new Melbourne Metro and Sydney Metro assets.

Airport advertising enjoyed the largest percentage boost, up 29% to $64.1m, driven by “continued recovery in travel”, with revenue now back at pre-COVID levels, according to chief financial officer Chris Roberts.

Retail revenue fell by 6%, to $124.8m. This sector, responsible for 18% of total revenue, is performing “below our expectations”, as new boss James Taylor explained during the investor call on Monday morning. New Zealand’s 7% retail media leap was offset by a 7% fall in Australia.

“Our retail channel is performing below our expectations,” Taylor said on the drop.

“This reflects a combination of factors including a competitive landscape, especially in the FMCG space, and the fact that until the relaunch of move in March, the full reach effectiveness and quality of our retail network is not yet fully visible to advertisers. We continue to believe in the long-term opportunity in retail, and we’ll provide a further update on our strategy for both retail and Reo at our AGM in May this year.”

Office and study also dropped, by 7%, to $19.3m. Taylor told investors that revenue for both retail, and office and study, will increase once the Move 2.0 measurement system (now simply called “Move”) lets advertisers understand the real-world impact of these assets. There was a line of commentary in Ooh’s release that indicated the delay to the release of Move – which will launch March — was behind the Office and Study decline.

Smiling: Cathy O’Connor received significant benefits on leaving the top job

Former CEO Cathy O’Connor’s departure payout was outlined in the full accounts. The outgoing CEO — who left at the end of the last year — received her full salary of $1.45m as well as an extra year’s salary and other benefits for a total of $2.68m. In other detail, it was revealed O’Connor received $330k for leave she hadn’t taken during her employment.

Cactus Imaging, Ooh’s large scale printing company, and Reo — which provides third-party retail media networks — together grew by 51%, from $13m to $19.7m. Reo’s performance was bolstered by a February 2025 partnership with Australia Post to launch its in-house retail network.

Gross profits across the company grew by 10%, to $475.6m, with EBITDA up 14% to $328m. Unfortunately, a $30m impairment due to the loss of the Auckland Transport contract (including a $25m “goodwill” component) saw profit after tax tumble by 54%, from $36.6m to $16.9m. This contract was responsible for revenue of $18m in 2025.

Adjusted gross profit increased 5% to $298.8m and adjusted underlying EBITDA grew 8% to $139.1m. Net debt as at December 31 2025 was $112.8m.

CAPEX increased by 21% to $54.4m, due to the costs of building new digital assets, and is expected to sit between $55m and $65m in 2026, again due to funding new advertising assets.

Taylor said that in the first half of the year, the company “delivered record revenue and underlying results, while the second half saw pressure on advertising budgets and the non-renewal of the Auckland Transport contract.

“Notwithstanding this, the underlying business demonstrated resilience … The significant contract wins we secured, including Transurban’s Melbourne and Brisbane motorway assets, further reinforces our market leadership position.

“We enter the next phase of growth with a clear focus on execution, a high-quality portfolio of assets and a team deeply committed to delivering for clients, partners, and shareholders.”