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Ten Network reports $232 million loss, says it's reliant on shareholder funding

Lucy Battersby

The future of struggling commercial TV station Ten Network now lies in the hands of the federal government, the Commonwealth Bank, and its billionaire shareholders. 

The company unveiled a shocking loss for the first half of the financial year and warned it must increase a $200 million loan before the end of the year, or could go under.

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Ten Network reports $232 million loss

The free-to-air broadcaster is pinning its future on securing a new $250 million loan.

Ten Network Holdings reported a 2.5 per cent decline in revenue to $340 million on Thursday morning, while its losses widened after it wrote down the value of its television licence by $214.5 million. 

Its shares dropped nearly 15 per cent to 38 cents following the announcement. 

The impairment charge blew a $2.4 million loss out to $232 million for the six months to February 28. The loss was in line with a profit warning issued by management in February, and reiterated on Thursday morning. 

Ten will now embark on a transformation program and is relying heavily on the government to deliver a cut in broadcast licence fees in next month's budget in order for it to secure a new loan.

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It still wants to bid for the next round of Big Bash cricket rights, and could do so together with Foxtel because Big Bash is not on the anti-siphoning list, which  give free-to-air networks the first right to bid for certain sports. 

A current four-year, $200 million facility with its lender, the Commonwealth Bank, expires in December and Ten wants to secure a new $250 million facility. 

The network is reliant on funding guarantees from its shareholders, which include billionaires Bruce Gordon, Gina Rinehart, Lachlan Murdoch and James Packer. Foxtel also has a 15 per cent stake in the network. 

Gordon, Murdoch and Packer and their "related entities" have guaranteed the facility and will receive $29 million in "guarantee fees".  

The board believes Ten will need more shareholder guarantees or new financiers to get the new loan. But guarantors have told Ten they will only step in if the network can convince them that future earnings will improve. 

Management has identified just three options to improve earnings: the transformation process, licence fee cuts and renegotiating program contracts. 

Meanwhile, the cost of producing local hit shows has kept increasing, up 7.4 per cent in the past half-year. 

"We need to keep investing in local content in terms of increasing our ratings and our revenue," chief executive Paul Anderson said on Thursday. 

"So that's still the ambition...We also understand that if the revenue market is flat or declining, then costs can't continue to increase. Otherwise the maths just don't work."

Mr Anderson would not comment on whether the company is at risk of falling into the hands of administrators, but said the directors had prepared financial results on a going concern basis. 

Auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers noted Ten's future relies on the new loan. 

"...the consolidated entity is reliant on the provision of sufficient further guarantees by shareholder guarantors and/or new financiers," auditor Scott Walsh noted. 

"These conditions, along with other matters set forth...indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the consolidated entity's ability to continue as a going concern." 

Mr Anderson was quoted as saying that 2.1 per cent growth in television revenue was "not enough to offset the weak conditions in the television advertising market and the company's increased content and other costs."

And the cost of producing prime-time content is expected to increase further. 

"Ten has commenced a transformation program to improve all aspects of the business," Mr Anderson said. 

"Despite The Biggest Loser: Transformed not performing, our investment in local content continues to build a strong platform, with Australian Survivor, the KFC Big Bash League and I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! performing very well for the network." 

In a statement to the stock market the company noted the capital city free-to-air television market remained challenging. 

"The market remains short and difficult to predict, despite television advertising remaining the best way to deliver positive returns on advertising spend in a brand-safe, advertiser-friendly environment," the network's statement said. 

"Absent any relief in television licence fees, this will result in an underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation loss for the full 2017 finance year of between $25 million and $30 million." 

In a conference call on Thursday morning, Mr Anderson told analysts he was keen to keep the rights to summer cricket. 

"We continue to have information discussions with Cricket Australia," he said. 

"We have a clear ambition to retain Big Bash. We are confident that what we do, and our relationship that we have with Cricket Australia, what we do with both our production and the on air team that we have in something that is very difficult if not impossible to replicate."

"But until there is a formal process...everything is just speculation." 

Mr Anderson noted that "Big Bash is not on the anti-siphoning list", so it was possible Ten and Foxtel could jointly bid for the broadcast rights.