Seven West Media will slash costs, halt a share buyback and keep dividends paused after reporting a near 70 per cent slump in full-year profits, which fell to $45.3 million.

And the Stokes family-controlled broadcaster’s new chief executive, Jeff Howard, warned that more than $650 million cut from free-to-air television advertising spending was unlikely to ever return. Mr Howard, Seven’s former chief financial officer who took over in April, said the company would cut another $73 million in costs.