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2011 ANNUAL REPORT CONTENTS 2 CHAIRMAN’S ADDRess 4 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT 9 DIRECTORs’ REPORT 25 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT 30 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Prime Media Group is an Australian company committed to bringing the very best in entertainment and information to the people of regional Australia. RADIO TELEVISION CAIRNS TOWNSVILLE MACKAY ROCKHAMPTON NSW GLADSTONE WA VIC SUNSHINE COAST ACT TOTAL POTENTIAL AUDIENCE TOTAL POTENTIAL AUDIENCE 1,200,000 5,115,000 AGE DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN AGE DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN <14 20.5% <17 23.3% 15 – 24 13.6% 18 - 24 9.1% 25 – 39 20.6% 25 - 39 18.6% 40 – 54 21.4% 40 - 54 20.7% > 55 23.9% > 55 28.3% HIGHLIGHTS $257m $49.1m REVENUE* EBIT* $27.2m 4.5¢ NET PROFIT AFTER TAX* FULL YEAR DIVIDEND/SHARE 53.4% 7.7% CHANGE IN NET ADVERTISING REVENUE PROFIT AFTER TAX* 19.7 228 18.5 18.3 18.6 213 208 211 191 9.2 07 08 09 10 11 07 08 09 10 11 ADVERTISING REVENUE ADVERTISING REVENUE TELEVISION (Millions) RADIO (Millions) * from Continuing Operations before Significant Items. PRIME MEDIA GROUP ANNUAL Report 2011 1 2 CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS On behalf of the Directors of Prime Media Group Limited, I am pleased to present the Annual Report covering the 2011 financial year. It has been a year of renewal and strong profit growth We’re very pleased with the performance of our for Prime Media Group Limited. With a new CEO at the partnership with the Seven Network. Its ability to helm, the Board has moved quickly and purposefully to consistently deliver Australia’s favourite programs provides reposition the business to focus on its core competency of for strong audience delivery for advertisers, and over regional broadcasting. the course of the financial year PRIME7 experienced significant audience growth in all of its viewing regions. We have also acted to strengthen financial and corporate governance with the appointment of Lesley Kennedy I am very pleased about the improvements made to our as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary from company. The Board and Management continue to work December 2010. Lesley has an excellent pedigree as to optimise returns for shareholders by exploring every CFO and Company Secretary and spent many years as a opportunity to extract more opportunity from existing chartered accountant and auditor with Ernst & Young. assets. I’d especially like to thank Prime’s dedicated staff I welcome Lesley to Prime and look forward to her for their continuing efforts and contribution. continuing contribution to the group. A Net Profit after tax result of $27.2 million has delivered Our renewed focus on regional broadcasting, along an $81.6 million turnaround. Earnings per share (from with the completion of the non-core asset disposal continuing operations before significant items) increased program, has delivered a tremendous turn around in the by 51% to 7.4 cents per share. A final dividend per share performance of the business with a 53% lift in Net Profit of 2.4 cents is a 71% improvement on the prior year. The after Tax, demonstrating the exceptional effort that has Directors increased the dividend pay-out ratio from 50% to gone into improving outcomes for Prime shareholders. 75% effective from the final dividend payment for the 2011 financial year. Strong television revenue growth in the first half saw the television division off to a terrific start to the year. Clearly Prime is back on the right track. I do hope you’re Management supported that revenue upswing with a raft as pleased with this year’s result as I am. of new initiatives to drive incremental audience growth and revenue opportunity. A new digital channel, 7mate, added to the increased pallet of opportunity for the television business, which delivered year on year EBITDA growth of 14%. With a 46% increase in EBITDA, the Queensland radio division has delivered an exceptional result against a backdrop of declining tourism, a tropical cyclone and terrible flooding, all of which greatly impacted local economies from the Sunshine Coast to Cairns in the far north. Paul Ramsay AO CHAIRMAN The losses incurred over past years in Prime’s online division have been substantially improved upon, and we look forward to the online division playing an increasing role in revenue generation and earnings contribution. Late in the financial year Prime entered into a partnership with Yahoo!7 to deliver deeper and richer content opportunities to draw larger audiences and provide greater opportunities to regional advertisers wanting integrated advertising solutions, a space we now dominate in the regional broadcasting sector. PRIME MEDIA GROUP ANNUAL Report 2011 3 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT I am very pleased to report to you that Prime Media Group Limited made the most of its opportunities in the 2011 financial year to deliver an $81.6 million turn around in profit resulting from the disposal of non-broadcasting assets, strong growth in television revenue and an exceptional improvement in earnings from the radio division. This result is the outcome of a company-wide review of operations and the completion of the disposal of the outside broadcasting Australian and New Zealand businesses and Moonlight Cinemas. Revenue from continuing operations increased in the financial year to $257 million, representing a 9% increase on the prior year. EBITDA of $59.2 million is 17% above the prior year and reflects improved EBITDA margins of 23%, up from 21% in the prior year. This resulted in a net profit after tax of $27.2m from continuing operations, an increase of 53%. Items disclosed as “significant items” contributed $1 million in net profit after tax and compared favourably to the prior year net loss after tax of $20 million. Discontinuing Operations resulted in a loss after tax of $1 million in the current year, a substantial improvement on the prior year loss after tax of $52.2 million and reflecting the finalisation of the restructure of the business. On 30 June 2011 the Company made the decision to exit the out of home digital media business. As such the results of the digital media business have been classified as discontinuing operations. 4 PRIME MEDIA GROUP ANNUAL Report 2011 5 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICEr’S REPORT (CONTINUED) Television – STRONG AUDIENCE, Online – LOSSES CONTAINED REVENUE & EBITDA GROWTH An EBITDA loss of $0.9 million in FY11 is a significant Prime’s television division went through a metamorphosis improvement on the prior year loss of $3.3 million (100% in 2011, rebranding as PRIME7 on the east coast and of business), reflecting the restructure of the business in GWN7 in Western Australia, to benefit from the strength the first half of 2011. The FY11 result consolidates 100% of the Seven Network brand and affiliation. We also of the results of the on line business following Prime’s enhanced local news bulletins, increased the number of acquisition, on 30 June 2010, of the 66% of the business local weather reports and introduced unique advertising it did not already own. The FY10 result includes Prime’s integration opportunities for advertisers across all 33% investment in the online business. markets, endeavours that have set PRIME7 apart from its competitors. More recently we executed an agreement for the provision of content by Yahoo!7 that has enriched the The Seven Network launched its second digital site and broadened its appeal. We continue working multi-channel, 7mate in east coast markets during the year. hard to bring the on line division to an earnings positive 7TWO and 7mate have delivered incremental audience position in the near future. share to Prime, resulting in a corresponding increase in advertising revenue share. The digital channels were also recently launched in Western Australia via GWN7. EXIT FROM PDM – ouT OF HOME MEDIA At 30 June 2011, we closed Prime’s out of home digital Television advertising revenue grew by 8% to $227.5 signage business, trading as Prime Digital Media. All million. National advertising revenue grew by 12.9% year costs associated with this exit have been fully provided on year, outperforming the market which grew at 8.67%, a for as at 30 June 2011. favourable variance of 4.23 percentage points. The national television advertising market grew strongly in the first half due to the federal election and mining tax advertising. IMPROVED DEBT & GEARING LEVELS PRIME7’s 3 aggregated market television advertising The Group’s debt level (net of cash on hand) has revenue growth of 8.77% outperformed market growth decreased in the current year by $51.4 million or 27% of 7.14% (KPMG data 3Agg markets). Television EBITDA to a closing balance of $135.7 million. This is largely of $63.2 million is a 14% increase on the prior year and attributable to the sale of the outside broadcasting the EBITDA margin increased from 26% to 27%. business during the current year, which was carrying debt of $24.1 million, in addition to the receipt, by the PRIME7’s 3 aggregated market audience share increased Group, of sale proceeds of $20.5 million from the sale of from 35.1% in FY10 to 36.6% in FY11. PRIME7’s revenue this business. The remaining improvement is attributable share increased from 36.29% to 36.84%, an increase of 0.55 to our growth in profitability. Accordingly the Company’s percentage points, with agency revenue share increasing gearing ratio improved from 58% at 30 June 2010, to by an impressive 1.5 percentage points to 39.6%. 47% at 30 June 2011. Television operating costs increased 6% with the majority The company’s current bank loan facility for $260 million of the increase related to a contracted rate increase in the expires in July 2012.