Seven’s Warburton on Stan Sport & Kayo’s ‘airline broadcast wars’, $70m of Olympics advertising, and the Google deal

Seven’s chief executive officer James Warburton and chief financial officer Jeff Howard speak to Mumbrella’s Brittney Rigby about how JobKeeper saved 120-150 jobs, locking in eight out of 12 sponsors and $70 million in advertising for the Olympics, the Google News Showcase deal, and sport streaming competitors.

Seven’s investor call yesterday morning featured chief executive James Warburton telling a story of improved numbers: Profit is up, although revenue fell. And debt and costs are down, in a big way.

The TV and publishing  company took an axe to its net debt pile during the half year ending December, cutting the roughly $570 million it owed by 42%. And it paid down an additional $150 million after the half year ended, meaning the level is set to fall under the 2x mark by the end of the year, excluding one off events.

The business posted a $116.4 million net profit, expects $110 million of its $170 million cost savings program to be realised this year (offset by 1-2% inflation), and has identified a further $30 million in cuts.

Seven’s share price currently sits at 50c, edging close to its 52-week high of 52c and up from the 36c it started 2021 on. According to Warburton, it’s a “very compelling story” indeed.

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