I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Peter Tonagh, Chair. Please go ahead.
Thank you, and good morning or good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our overview of GTN's performance in the first half of the 2025 fiscal year. We are very proud to report another solid financial performance this half as the business transitioned to having new majority shareholdings and a new board composition. Just on that note, I would like to welcome Rob DiMartino, Jason Coleman, and Bill Barron to our board as non-independent, non-executive directors. Personally, I am very confident that each of them has a unique contribution to make for GTN's ongoing success. In the first half of fiscal year 2025, we delivered a 2% growth in revenues and an 11% increase in net profit after tax to $4.9 million. We finished the year with net cash of $14.5 million before lease liabilities of $2.9 million.
Our cash balance in this period was affected by an increase in working capital of AUD 11.8 million, which was predominantly due to delayed debtors' collections in the U.K. and Canada. On that note, I'm pleased that as of the 17th of February, as that working capital unwound, our net cash has risen to AUD 29.7 million. Brent will take us through a bit more detail on each market and our half-year performance, but I'd like to focus on a few highlights before I hand over to him. As I mentioned, total revenue grew overall by 2% to AUD 96.7 million. Net profit after tax increased by 11% to AUD 4.9 million. Reported adjusted EBITDA decreased 7% to AUD 12.5 million, but was impacted by AUD 1.45 million of costs relating to Viburnum's off-market takeover bid and extensive rebranding of the ATN business. Removing these one-off costs, adjusted EBITDA would have grown by 4%.
Australia continues to be our biggest and most profitable market, and it delivered minor revenue growth over the same period last year despite the challenging advertising market. Also, within the result, there is an investment of AUD 1.7 million in committed premium inventory with the expectation of future payoff, and that investment led to an adjusted EBITDA of AUD 9.8 million, which is down from AUD 10.5 million in the first half of FY2024. In this period, our non-Australian markets accounted for 55% of revenue, notwithstanding the negative impacts of exchange rate movements. In the U.K., under John Quinn, revenue grew by 14%, delivering an adjusted EBITDA of AUD 1.9 million, while Brazil grew 11% in local currency but declined 6% in Australian dollars, driven by a 17% devaluation of the Brazilian real against the Aussie dollar.
It was a challenging half in the radio market in Canada, with revenue declining 3% in local currency, but the CTN business still contributed AUD 1.8 million to our adjusted EBITDA in the first half of FY25. Our balance sheet remained strong, even with the continued paydown of our debt facility, our ongoing share buyback program, and the payment of our final FY24 dividend. As of December 31, 2024, we had AUD 14.5 million of net cash before lease liabilities of AUD 2.9 million, and as I mentioned earlier, this balance was impacted by an increase in accounts receivable. Since that balance date, we've received AUD 21.5 million of debtor collections from the U.K., Australia, and Canada, and as a result of that, we held a net cash balance of AUD 29.7 million as of the 17th of February.
As a result of that cash balance, we're delighted to be able to declare an interim dividend of AUD 2.47 per share, and that represents 100% of first half FY2025 net profit after tax, which is in line with our intended dividend policy of distributing up to 100% of NPAT. The first half FY2025 dividend reflects an annualized dividend yield of 9.1% based on GTN's last closing share price. Looking forward, our strategic focus is on growing operating earnings while optimizing capital management. We continue to pursue opportunities to enhance the existing business's profitability through ongoing improvements in sales effectiveness and operational efficiency, and we remain open to compelling expansion opportunities. Our capital strategy prioritizes working capital efficiency and treasury optimization while evaluating various capital management options, including dividends and share buybacks, to deliver shareholder value.
Today, I'd like to hand first to Vic Lorusso, our CEO of ATN, so he can provide a bit of an operational update before we hand across to Brent for the financial update. Over to you, Vic.
Thanks, Peter. I'm pleased to update on our operational performance, growth, and our strategic execution across our four country operations. We'll start with ATN. ATN has redefined its position as the media that gets attention in market, backed by a refreshed brand strategy and messaging. As advertisers prioritize engagement and attention, our new attention media positioning really reinforces quality of engagement, our speed to market, our significant reach, and cost efficiency across traffic, news, sport, weather, fuel, and entertainment. We've invested in premium inventory across metro and regional markets, enhancing our high-value ad placements nationwide with an expanded product suite and premium audience. ATN's really driving new demand and strengthening its market relevance.
ATN also this half led Australia's first attention audit with US-based Adelaide Metrics, proving really that ATN delivers high reach and high engagement, a winning combination for advertisers, and we've also launched a multicultural audio offering in all major markets, reaching Australians who speak a language other than English at home. ATN continues to evolve and innovate, giving advertisers smarter and more efficient ways to engage audiences. Under Fabio Menezes' leadership in Brazil, BTN remains the benchmark in Brazil's information broadcasting space, now reaching 105 affiliated stations across the nine key markets. In the past six months, Fabio and his team have expanded into a new regional market, Florianopolis, reinforcing our growth strategy while increasing our active client base to 213 active clients. It's a 6% rise in active clients, reflecting our strong market momentum in Brazil.
Operationally in Brazil, we've streamlined helicopter operations, optimized in-market sales strategies, and brought in top advertising talent, ensuring smarter engagement, more targeted prospecting, and personalized client service. With a clear strategy, expanding reach, and Fabio's leadership, BTN remains a dominant force delivering unmatched value to our clients and partners. As Peter mentioned, despite industry challenges, CTN continues to hold a very strong share of agency spend, demonstrating market resilience and solid client relationships under Donna Gardner's leadership. In the last half, Donna led a strategic leadership transformation, fostering cross-department collaboration, ensuring every part of the business contributes to growth. CTN is investing in ways to expand our reach, actively negotiating new affiliate partnerships and tapping into growing demand for regional advertising. Smart strategy, CTN is set for future growth, expanding its footprint and maximizing advertiser value.
In the U.K., with John Quinn's leadership, GTN UK has positioned itself as the largest independent radio network, so delivering premium content to over 31 million adults weekly. With 240 radio stations and partnerships, GTN UK provides exclusive solus ad positioning, driving stronger engagement and recall. Our content and our reach continues to set the benchmark for high-impact advertising and our position as a trusted media partner. We're proud to say GTN continues to grow and innovate, backed by strong leadership, strong sales teams, strong operational teams, positioning us for lasting value to our partners, our clients, and you, our shareholders. On that note, I'd like to hand over to our global CFO, Brent Henley.
Thanks, Vic, and good afternoon, everybody. I'd like to start by highlighting the key messages for the first half of FY25. FY25 revenue was AUD 96.7 million, an increase of 2% compared to first half FY24. International operations have grown to represent 55% of GTN's revenue. Adjusted EBITDA of AUD 12.5 million was down 7% compared to the first half FY24, inclusive of non-recurring costs of AUD 1.45 million. NPAT of AUD 4.9 million was up 11% compared to the first half FY24. We have a strong balance sheet. First half FY25 net cash of AUD 14.5 million was due to seasonal networking capital build, which has now unwound in the start of FY25. Our net cash as of the 17th of February was $ 29.7 million. There was a total shareholder return of $ 12.3 million in the first half of FY25.
That comprised of a dividend of $3.4 million, the final dividend from the previous year, share buyback of $1.9 million, and debt repayment of $7 million. We have announced an interim FY25 dividend of $2.47 per share, unfranked, which represents 100% of our first half FY25 NPAT. As Peter said, this represents an annualized dividend yield of 9.1% based on GTN's last closing share price. As previously stated, revenue for the first half fiscal year increased 2% to $96.7 million. When compared to the first half, the U.K. revenue increased 14% and Australia's revenue increased 0.3%. Canada's revenue decreased 6.1% and Brazil's revenue decreased 6%, although in local currency, Brazil grew by 11%, but the year-on-year performance in Australian dollars was impacted by a 17% devaluation of the Brazilian real. Revenue from the U.K. operations benefited from favorable currency movements, while Brazil and Canada were negatively impacted by currency movements.
When measured in local currency, the U.K. revenue increased 11.8%. Brazil, as we said, increased 11%, while Canada decreased 2.9% compared to first half FY2024. Adjusted EBITDA was AUD 12.5 million compared to AUD 13.3 million in the first half, a decrease of 7%. This result was impacted by AUD 1.45 million of costs relating to the Viburnum off-market takeover bid and extensive rebranding of the ATN business. If we remove these costs, adjusted EBITDA would have grown by 4% compared to the first half FY2024. We consider it appropriate to add the financing component of our long-term station affiliation agreement with Southern Cross Austereo to EBITDA because EBITDA includes a large amount of non-cash station compensation expense related to the agreement, and by including both amounts in adjusted EBITDA, we believe it provides a clearer view of the financial impact of the agreement.
As a result of scaling back drone activity, the EBITDA loss for the drone business was contained to AUD 170,000 in the first half of FY2025. Pleasingly, Group NPAT increased 11% to AUD 4.9 million in the first half of FY2025, with an earnings per share of AUD 0.025. Adjusted NPAT, which is defined as net profit after tax, adjusted to add back the tax-affected non-cash amortization expense related to acquired intangible assets, increased 7% to AUD 7.1 million in the first half of FY2025. From a shareholder perspective, we paid a final dividend of AUD 3.4 million, repurchased 4 million shares for AUD 1.88 million, and repaid an additional AUD 7 million in bank debt during the first half of FY2025, reducing debt to AUD 1 million as of the end of 31 December 2024.
Due to the group's strong balance sheet and financial performance, the board has decided to declare an interim dividend of AUD 2.47, unfranked, which is 100% of the first half FY2025 NPAT and represents the annualized dividend yield of 9.1% based on our last closing share price. In addition, the board has adopted a target dividend policy of paying out up to 100% of net profit after tax to be paid as an interim and final dividend annually. This policy can be altered at any time on the liquidity needs and performance of the company and is subject to adjustment for non-recurring and non-cash items that may impact NPAT. The business has received a credit-approved commitment letter from GTN's existing lender, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, for a new four-year AUD 35 million facility to provide balance sheet flexibility and support capital management initiatives in 2025.
We continue to engage with our advisors to progress available capital management options and are looking to meaningfully progress this initiative in the second half of FY25. I will now turn back the call to Peter for an update on the second half of FY25. Peter?
Thanks, Brent. I'll just give a very brief update on how we're tracking into this calendar year. As many of you will know, the market continues to have a very short sales cycle, but for January 2025, revenue finished slightly ahead of the FY24 number. Future results are going to be very dependent on the economic conditions in the markets in which we operate. All four of our markets continue to be well positioned with solid affiliate lineups, strong sales teams, and a very strong competitive position in our larger unique offering. We've got a strong balance sheet, and we believe that everything is in place for improved financial performance as economic conditions continue to improve. This now ends our prepared remarks, and we'll now open the lines to questions.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. If you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. We will just pause for a moment to allow questioners to enter the queue. Once again, that's star one on your phone to register for a question. We're showing no questions at this time. Pardon me, we do have a question from Finola Burke with RAAS Research Group
Thank you. I think Russell has asked Peter and Brent and team on the results. I just wanted to flesh out if you were looking at further capital management initiatives in addition to increasing the dividend payout ratio to 100%.
Yes, Finola, thank you, and thank you for joining the call. We are looking at the moment, and we're engaged with our advisors on looking at a number of different capital management options, and we hope to progress those in the second half of FY2025.
Thank you.
Your next question comes from Andrew Moffitt with Kosala Capital Pty Ltd. Andrew Moffitt, your line is open. Mr. Moffitt, your line is open. We will just do one more call for questions. That is star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand back to Mr. Tonagh for closing remarks.
Okay, thank you very much, and thank you to everyone for joining. Just to wrap up, we're very pleased with the current group performance, and we remain very confident about the future. GTN's well positioned to continue to deliver solid earnings growth with our new locally based executive team, our strong country heads in each of our markets, and as we've discussed, a solid balance sheet providing optionality for growth investments and optionality for returns of capital to our shareholders. We look forward to speaking to you again after the fiscal 2025 results. Thank you again for joining us.
That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.