Being an ASX-listed company doesn’t stop at your IPO. There’s a list of rules and regulations that many seem to have found a way around, thus irking the ASX. On May 3, out-of-home advertising company oOh! Media (ASX: OML) published an investor presentation resulting in a share price dump. Whether it was planned or not, it did not sit well with the ASX.

In a letter to oOh! Media, the ASX questioned the Company about “the decrease in the price of OML’s securities to a low of $0.98 on 3 May 2022, reflecting a 39.9% decrease from the prior day’s close of $1.63. C. Listing Rule 3.1, which requires a listed entity to immediately give ASX any information concerning it that a reasonable person would expect to have a material effect on the price or value of the entity’s securities.”

In response, the Company said that it did not consider the information to be such that a reasonable person would expect it to have a material effect on the price or value of its securities. The thing is, the information was overwhelmingly negative, and the ASX did not appreciate it not being communicated earlier.

The trading update indicated a softening media market at the end of Q1 and into Q2 due to a decline in the broader macroeconomic environment in Australia and New Zealand. Q1 revenues grew 3% over Q1 2022, but trading softened significantly in March compared to forward pacing as of mid-February, with a decline in short-term, in-month bookings versus the previous corresponding period (pcp), particularly in the Government spend category. Street revenue continues to be impacted by the launch of the City of Sydney, resulting in a 1.9% share loss overall in Q1. April media revenue is pacing at -10% versus the pcp, and the capex for March year-to-date is on track for the guidance of $40-50 million for CY23. 

A share buyback commenced on September 5, 2022, with over 36 million shares bought back, representing over 70% completion of the buyback program.

Normally, the Company doesn’t share monthly revenue results because it’s still in the middle of a reporting period, and the situation at one point doesn’t necessarily reflect how things will be at the end of the reporting period. This is especially true at the beginning of the reporting period because oOh’s earnings are usually weighted towards the second half of the year, particularly Q4. So, the information about revenue performance in the March quarter and April 2023 that was included in the presentation before the Macquarie Australia Conference is not something that, oOh! Media feels, is supposed to be shared under the ASX Listing Rules.

In the past, the Company has shared some information, including April revenue performance, as part of the Macquarie Australia Conference presentation. Following the same approach, it included this information in its Investor Presentation submitted to ASX before the conference. It knows that its share price declined significantly on May 3, 2023, and oOh! Media says that it has not withheld any other information that could explain the decline.

Tired of companies squeezing such updates in their letters and presentations, the ASX noted that it would be better if companies would just issue separate updates in such instances. For now, though, it’s a little too late for that. 

The Company commenced another share buyback on May 8 to boost its share price and infuse confidence in shareholders. Plus, having issued its response to the ASX, it has officially left the ball in the latter’s court.