TV Writedown Slugs Seven West Media With $745m Full-year Loss

TV Writedown Slugs Seven West Media With $745m Full-year Loss
Huntley Mitchell
By Huntley Mitchell
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Seven West Media (SWM) has posted some dour results for the 2017 financial year, due in large part to a writedown of its TV assets.

The company reported a statutory net loss of $745 million for the 12 months to 30 June 2017, compared to a net profit of $184.3 million the year before.

The loss was due to a $988.8 million impairment, which included a $435.8 million writedown in the value of its TV licences.

SWM’s revenue was down 2.7 per cent to $1.68 billion in FY17, while the company’s EDITDA was down 15.6 per cent to $306.7 million.

Revenue for SWM’s TV division saw a slight rise in the last financial year – up 1.7 per cent to $1.28 billion.

Meanwhile, it’s newspaper division experienced a 4.8 per cent revenue decline to $217.5 million, with advertising revenue for this sector down 11.9 per cent.

SWM’s magazine division also witnessed a double-digit drop in revenue – down 16.5 per cent to $168 million – with ad revenue falling 28 per cent.

In positive news for the media behemoth, revenue for its radio assets grew 2.2 per cent in FY17 to $9.4 million. However, Yahoo7’s share of SWM’s profit fell 39.8 per cent to $5.3 million.

SWM chief executive Tim Worner said the results reflect a tough market, “one that continues to change at pace, but a pace that we must match in our transformation”.

“Despite these tougher conditions, we continue to lead in the core markets in which we compete, while at the same time making the necessary and sometimes difficult decisions in the transformation of our business,” he said.

In his letter to shareholders, SWM chairman Kerry Stokes also made note of the Amber Harrison fiasco which has engulfed the company and its CEO in recent months.

“Among the various issues faced during the year, we were obliged to take legal action to protect our business from the release of confidential company information and defend the reputations of our people,” he said.

“As detailed in two separate successful NSW Supreme Court judgements, our group acted professionally and appropriately in the handling of this matter, which we trust is now closed.”

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