Seven Network has taken a hit as Seven West Media, chaired by Kerry Stokes, suffered a 69 per cent drop in profits to $45m for the full year.
The group owns the Seven Network and Perth-based channel The West Australian, and its broadcaster was the subject of a Four Corners investigation on Monday.
ABC award-winning journalist Louise Milligan aired allegations of harassment, sexism and a toxic workplace culture in the hard-hitting investigative piece Don’t Speak.
Things have only gone downhill since then: Wednesday’s 2023/24 results also revealed pre-tax profits fell by a third to $187 million.
CEO Jeff Howard had a tense call with investors following those results.
“There is no doubt that FY24 was a difficult year for Seven West Media and probably for many in the sector,” Howard told them.
However, investor response was muted: shares rose as high as 16.5 cents after the results were announced, before falling to close at 15.5 cents.
The stock was trading at 40 cents a year ago and has fallen more than 60 percent since then.
Seven Network has taken a hit: Seven West Media, chaired by 83-year-old Kerry Stokes (pictured), saw profits fall 69 per cent to $45m for the full year.
Seven West Media is home to some of Australia’s best media professionals, Howard said, but some staff have been told to leave.
“The actions of some individuals do not reflect the values, behaviour and attitude of the company as a whole,” he said.
“We are focused on building a stronger, high-performance culture that enables our great people to thrive and where unacceptable behavior is not tolerated.”
The company’s previous chief executive and managing director, James Warburton, resigned earlier than expected in April, ending a scandal-plagued tenure.
This followed allegations heard in the Federal Court that the Seven Network paid illicit drugs and sex workers to secure an interview with former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.
Less than a year earlier, in June 2023, former elite soldier Ben Roberts-Smith resigned from his role as general manager of Seven West Media’s Queensland operations.
The group owns the Seven Network and Perth-based The West Australian and its broadcaster was the subject of a Four Corners investigation on Monday.
This was prompted by a Federal Court ruling that reports that he had committed war crimes were substantially true.
The Victoria Cross recipient is awaiting a ruling in an appeal against these findings.
In June, Seven West Media restructured into three divisions and implemented cost-cutting measures across the board in a bid to reduce costs by approximately $100 million.
However, costs have risen by 2%, to $1.23 billion.
One area of investment is artificial intelligence, with Seven West Media bringing staff from AI firm Databricks into its business, Howard revealed.
ABC award-winning journalist Louise Milligan aired allegations of harassment and sexism and a toxic workplace culture in the shocking investigative piece Don’t Speak
Artificial intelligence technology can accurately predict audiences on the Seven Plus streaming platform 28 days in advance, he said.
Overall, Seven West Media’s revenue fell five per cent to $1.4 billion from a year earlier, while net debt rose to $301 million.
Perth-based West Australia posted revenues that were virtually flat at $172 million, with pre-tax profits down 13 per cent to $27 million.
A bright spot for the company was its daily digital newspaper The Nightly, which launched in February and by June had attracted a monthly audience of 2.3 million.
After breaking even in its first few months, The Nightly is expected to turn a profit in 2024/25.
Seven Network’s AFL broadcasts and this summer’s cricket season, which pits Australia against India, are also seeing a boost in advertising bookings.
No dividends will be paid to Seven West Media investors.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Seven Network for comment.
Wednesday’s 2023/24 results revealed pre-tax profits fell by a third to $187m, forcing new chief executive Jeff Howard (pictured) into a tense call with investors.
This comes after Seven West Media cut 150 editorial staff in a round of redundancies that included big names including Queenslanders news presenter Sharyn Ghidella and veteran weatherman Paul Burt.
Seven Network’s newly appointed head of news and current affairs Anthony De Ceglie has been replacing section leaders across the country with younger managers.
It has also introduced a comedy slot on Friday nights and astrology on the news.
Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide have new news directors and new executive producers have taken over Sunrise, Weekend Sunrise and Spotlight.
The cost-cutting bloodbath also included the sacking of veterans Robert Ovadia, Andrew Frampton and seasoned Melbourne crime reporter Cameron Baud, who is known to friends as the “Harvester of Sorrows” for his grim news coverage.
On the Sydney front, Ovadia – perhaps the most high-profile figure in all the dismissals until Ghidella’s – has announced he will take Seven to the Fair Work Commission for unfair dismissal.
Daily Mail Australia previously reported that Ovadia allegedly sent a series of bizarre, manipulated images to a young female journalist before he was dumped.
The company’s previous chief executive and managing director, James Warburton (right), resigned earlier than expected in April, ending a scandal-plagued tenure.