Southern Cross Media Group (SCA) has announced its financial results for the year ended 30 June 2021. Despite flat revenues, the group was able to lift profit and reduce debt.
Highlights
EBITDA up 16.4% to $125.9m
Net profit of $48.1m up 16% on prior year
Net debt reduced to $53.0m
Audio revenue of $359.7m declined by 3.1%, Television revenue of $169.0m was 0.3% lower than in FY20
Boomtown marketing initiative continued to add with national advertising revenues for regional radio 10% higher than in FY20
Digital advertising revenue grew by 40% to $15.4m
Southern Cross Austereo CEO, Grant Blackley, commented:
“SCA is pleased to report EBITDA of $125.9m and NPAT of $48.1m, up 16.4% and 91.6% respectively on the prior year. With debt at historically low levels and a leaner operating model, these results put us in a strong position to invest for the future as well as to resume payment of fully franked dividends to our shareholders.
“The launch of LiSTNR in February was an exciting moment for SCA, and our progress since launch has only added to the excitement. LiSTNR is scaling quickly with a growing community of signed-in listeners exploring and enjoying the range of premium live and on-demand audio content. Listening to podcasts on LiSTNR has grown 200% in the five months since launch and, from a zero base, listening to live radio now matches podcast consumption. We expect this momentum to support further growth of 75% to 100% in digital revenues during FY22.
“Through LiSTNR, SCA is able to serve this growing demand for digital audio and to help advertisers connect to addressable and targeted audiences at scale.
“Our Australia-wide network of 99 AM, FM and DAB+ radio stations remains the creative core of SCA, but with a new digital-first mindset. With audiences increasingly choosing to listen via digital means, our teams are finding ways to make it easy to enjoy our radio shows, podcasts, music playlists, news and other local updates on LiSTNR and other platforms.
“SCA’s Television business performed well, delivering EBITDA of $38.1m, up 59.7% compared to the prior year. While this result benefited from government support in the first half of the year, it also reflected the relatively quicker recovery of television advertising markets and SCA’s market-leading sales performance.
“Our transition to Network 10 programming from 1 July has been seamless. Subject to the performance of television markets, we expect the change of affiliation to be earnings neutral in the year ahead.
“SCA this week reached a provisional agreement with Google for SCA to join Google News Showcase. We expect to document the agreement in coming weeks. This new partnership with Google fairly recognises the value and reach of our national and local Triple M and Hit Network news services. The partnership will not have a material impact on SCA’s earnings but will help support our digital news journalism.”
See also: Hamish and Andy renew their long-term partnership with SCA