Seven West Media Shares Drop After Big Earnings Loss

Seven West Media (SWM) has announced a staggering 69 percent decline in earnings for the year ending June, resulting in its share price plummeting to a record low of 14 cents. This marks the ninth consecutive year that shareholders will not receive a dividend. Despite a slight increase in total TV revenue share to 40.2 percent, the company faced a 5 percent drop in overall revenue to $1.42 billion, primarily due to declining advertising sales across its channels. In the wake of the earnings report, SWM's share price briefly recovered to 16.5 cents, reflecting a 6.5 percent increase on August 14. However, the stock remains down 59 percent over the past year. The company operates a diverse portfolio, including the Seven Network, various affiliate channels, the 7plus streaming platform, and several online news sites and newspapers, which have all been impacted by the broader downturn in the television industry. The financial report revealed a net profit of $45 million, adversely affected by $44 million in one-off charges, including restructuring costs and program write-downs. Excluding these charges, profit still fell by 46 percent to $78 million, with operating earnings dropping a third to $187 million. In response, SWM has implemented cost-cutting measures aimed at reducing expenses in the upcoming fiscal year. Looking ahead, SWM is optimistic about future revenue growth, particularly from new digital rights associated with cricket and AFL contracts. The company aims to capture a larger share of advertising dollars and improve its digital revenue performance, projecting a decline in costs to between $1.2 billion and $1.21 billion for FY25.