Tag: SWM

Kerry Stokes’ Seven West Media has produced a full-year profit thanks to intense cost cutting and the absence of the massive, near billion dollar asset impairments we saw a year go.

Seven West Media has sold its 50% stake in Yahoo7 to Oath Inc, its US joint venture partner, after spending the last two years building its own digital news and content business and apps.

Seven West Media has been force to drop its dividend for the time being as it struggles to survive a high level of debt, falling sales and weak growth prospects.

Seven West Media shares a new all time low of 61.5 cents in trading yesterday after the company slipped out what amounts to a small downgrade to an already weak guidance for the 2017-18 financial year.

For the second time in three years, Seven West Media has slashed asset values on its balance sheet as it attempts to adjust to the rapid pace of change in the media.

Seven West Media (SWM) shares slid sharply yesterday after revealing a cut in dividend and a 91% plunge in net after tax profit for the December half. More importantly the ratings for its powerhouse program, My Kitchen Rules (MKR) have fallen in a hole, and that slump became few apparent as the half year results were being released.

Anyone still enthusiastic about legacy media, especially print, should go and read yesterday’s statement from the ACCC which cleared the way for Kerry Stokes’ Seven West Media (SWM) to buy the Sunday Times and perthnow website from the Murdoch family’s News Corp.

Seven West (SWM) shares dropped more than 18% yesterday, wiping out more than half this year’s gains after the company surprised with a forecast a big drop in earnings for the coming financial year because of still-soft advertising market and the costs of broadcasting the Olympics and the start of the new AFL broadcast.

For the second annual meeting in a row, Seven West Media (SWM) CEO Tim Wharton has had glum news for long suffering shareholders on earnings guidance – weak to lower would be the best way to sum it up.

Seven West Media’s (SVW) board, management and biggest shareholder, Kerry Stokes are all obviously worried about the continuing weakness of the share price, so much so that the media group yesterday attempted to put a support base under the shares by announcing plans to buy up to $75 million of its own shares.

Kerry Stokes’ Seven West Media (SWM) plans to raise between $150 million and $612 million in a rights issue aimed at getting rid of 2,500 convertible preference shares that if not extinguished in a year’s time, would prevent the company from paying dividends.

On Wednesday, Seven West Media (SWM) was forced to recognise the sharp slide in its share price and worsening in the outlook for broadcast TV and by writing down the value of its TV licences.

Meanwhile the market was kinder to Seven West Media (SWM) which yesterday sprung an earnings downgrade on the market at its AGM in Sydney.