Southern Cross Media slashes jobs amid downgrade

Southern Cross Media Group (ASX:SXL) announced a major restructuring programme to counter deteriorating market conditions, particularly within its television segment.

Confronting a decline in market performance through the fourth quarter of FY26, the Australian media company has downgraded its FY26 revenue guidance to between $1.86 billion and $1.87 billion, down from earlier forecasts of $1.91 billion to $1.92 billion.

Underlying EBITDA is now expected to land between $185 million and $190 million.

In response to the revenue shortfall, SCA has launched an expanded cost-reduction initiative building upon recent merger synergy activities with Seven West Media.

The programme aims to deliver annual run-rate savings of $145 million to $150 million upon completion.

However, the cost management will result in significant local job losses, with 250 to 300 full-time equivalent positions expected to be redundant before June 30, triggering a restructuring charge of approximately $20 million.

Managing Director and CEO Rohan Lund expressed regret over the redundancies, stating the company must reset its cost base to capture the full benefits of scale across its platforms.

Reflecting a subdued economic outlook, SCA expects to raise a non-cash onerous contract provision of $65 million to $70 million related to its legacy TV content contracts, to be recognised under purchase price accounting.

Despite the challenging fiscal adjustments, the broadcaster noted some operational highlights, reporting that its total TV audience share has increased by 1.1 percentage points in the financial year to date through to the end of May.