Seven West Media records $135.2m half yearly profit, with print recording major declines
Seven West Media (ASX: SWM) has recorded a $135.2m half yearly profit, a result that is up on last year when the company made major writedowns.
The figure of a post-tax profit $135.2m, includes significant items, is down marginally on last year’s underlying net profit of $137.5m but comes as Seven’s print divisions took a hammering, with profits in both the newspaper and magazine divisions falling by double digits.
SWM’s West Australian newspaper division saw profit its down 22.3% to a EBIT of $24m and magazines were down a massive 39.1% to $7.3m while television remain the main profit centre and were up 2% to $185.4m.
Seven joint-venture Yahoo7 saw its EBIT rise 16.7% to $17.5m, amid ongoing speculation about the future of the business given its US owner’s current ongoing sales process.
Overall revenues also took a hit, with Seven recording a 5.8% decline in TV revenues, a 14.8% decline in newspapers and 15.5% in magazines, while digital revenues rose 94.9%.
Worner: Seven has cut costs amid revenue declines.
Seven West Media noted it has delivered a 4% decrease in operating costs with CEO Tim Worner, noting in a statement: “Today’s result in an extraordinarily competitive and rapidly changing market is positive.
“We are delivering leadership in broadcast television, and our digital and publishing businesses continue to deliver market-leading margins.
“Our company’s focus is clear: driving home our leadership in content creation and to use the strengths of our media businesses to drive better outcomes for our audiences and our advertisers on digital platforms.
“We are building and transforming our businesses, managing our costs, focusing on our core strength of content creation and rapidly expanding our presence across all communications devices.”
An interim dividend of 4 cents per share (fully franked) has been declared.
Nic Christensen
