Broadcaster SCA reports strengthening advertising bookings.
CEO Grant Blackley told the company's AGM today he expects revenue for the December quarter will be 10% to 15% lower than the same three months in 2019.
Previously the company said it would be eligible for JobKeeper support of about $12 million from September 28 through to January 3.
"However, with advertising bookings strengthening, we expect SCA will not be eligible for JobKeeper support beyond that date," says Blackley.
"SCA has strong and trusted platforms to deliver our content and our advertisers’ messages to mass audiences in brand-safe environments around Australia.
"Increasingly, our platforms and insights are enabling us to target valuable segments of our audiences, creating higher value for our advertisers and premium returns for SCA.
"Importantly, we have a resilient and dedicated team with the right skills to rebuild our value and deliver long term returns to shareholders."
The company posted revenue of $540.15 million, down 18.2%, for the year to June. Underlying net profit after tax was $35.8 million, down 51%. SCA expects to resume payment of dividends in the 2022 financial year.
Blackley says COVID-19 has had a severe impact on the business but it has also accelerated consumer trends that will play to SCA's strengths and strategy as economic activity progressively recovers.
"Consumption of audio has grown strongly during the year," he says.
"This is because audio is more accessible than ever through internet-enabled devices such as mobile phones, tablets, desktop computers and smart speakers.
"SCA’s suite of radio stations, radio podcasts, original podcasts and smart news updates is available on all these devices."
Key statistics for September:
- SCA’s audiences listened to 10.5 million hours of digital audio in September, a year-on-year increase of 31%.
- Live streaming of Hit and Triple M radio shows increased by 58% to 1.5 million unique listeners, with 9.1 million active live streams - the highest ever.
- Listening on smart speakers grew by 62% year-on-year to 2.3 million hours.
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