NZME Limited announced their financial results for the full year ended 31 December 2025 which were by and large very positive though Michael Boggs, NZME Chief Executive Officer, was just ‘cautiously optimistic’ toward FY26.
The results:
- EBITDA of $62.3 million was up from $54.2 million the year prior, or 15%.
- Statutory Net Profit After Tax was $13.1 million.
- Operating Revenue for the year was $345.1 million, down from the year prior and due to the closure of community publications in December 2024.
- Normalised operating revenue growth was 1%, operating expenses were 4% lower than the year prior.
- NZME’s Operating NPAT1 for 2025 was $17.7 million, resulting in a final dividend to shareholders of 6.0 cents per share payable on 18 March 2026, which brings it to 9.0 cents per share for the year.
- The Audio division’s profitability was up 23%, driven by improved overall revenue growth of 5%, including digital audio revenue growth of 10%.
Michael Boggs said:
“I am proud to deliver these results today on behalf of our team of 1,100 who have worked so hard through several challenging years. We’ve remained focused on our digital-first strategy, continuing to innovate and adapt to changing audience and client needs, we’ve reduced our costs, and we’ve simplified our structure to allow us to operate at pace, placing specialist support services under each of our three main business divisions.
NZME is well positioned to benefit from an economic upturn and we’re focused on delivering top line revenue growth in 2026. We’re seeing encouraging signs of recovery with advertising revenues for the first quarter on track to deliver an estimated 3% growth year on year. It’s pleasing to see activity levels and market sentiment continuing to improve, and we’re anticipating a gradual recovery as inflationary pressures and global economic uncertainty linger.
The company completed a number of savings initiatives in 2025 to deliver annualised cost savings of $12 million that will be fully realised in 2026. This will result in a further improvement in costs of $3 million in 2026, whilst we continue to proactively manage costs.”
Steven Joyce, NZME Board Chair added:
“2025 provided a challenging economic climate for many New Zealand businesses and NZME was no exception. It’s pleasing to be able to report an improved profit performance to shareholders, despite that challenging backdrop.
We have entered 2026 with a strong balance sheet, diversified revenue streams and strong market positions across Audio, Publishing and OneRoof, providing a solid foundation for future growth. The renewed momentum and focus we have built through 2025 positions us strongly for 2026 and beyond.
We are committed to advancing our market position and returns to shareholders through continual innovation, deeper audience engagement and enhanced advertiser value.”
NZME’s 2025 Full Year Financial Results can be found here.