Triple M owner to get $12M JobKeeper 2.0 payments

Southern Cross Media is set to receive around $12m in JobKeeper 2.0 payments, taking its total pandemic support to $28m.

Triple M breakfast show hosts Gus Worland, Lawrence "Moonman" Mooney and Jess Eva. Picture: John Feder

The owner of Triple M and Hit radio stations is set to receive around $12m in JobKeeper 2.0 payments, taking its total federal government funding support to $28m during the coronavirus crisis.

Southern Cross Media said it is eligible for continued support under the extended JobKeeper program from September 28 to January 3.

“The eligibility test requiring revenues to be more than 30 per cent below the prior comparative period was met in the September quarter,” the group said in a brief statement on Thursday.

Southern Cross, which operates 98 radio stations across its Triple M and Hit Networks around the country, said advertising bookings for the December quarter are “stronger and the gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria will further aid recovery of revenues”.

As a result, the company doesn’t expect to receive JobKeeper support beyond January 3.

Southern Cross, led by chief executive Grant Blackley, has already received $16m from the Morrison government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy program.

While pocketing the JobKeeper money, Southern Cross has focused on bolstering its balance sheet by slashing its net debt by $39m to $93m over the three months to September 30.

Management expects its debt reduction, together with an improving trading outlook and second round of JobKeeper funding, will result in leverage being below one time net debt to underlying earnings. The group said it will provide “significant headroom” against its 4.5 times leverage covenant.

Southern Cross will provide another trading update at its annual shareholder meeting on October 30.

Less than two months ago, Southern Cross reported a 37 per cent fall in underlying earnings to $93m for the year to June 30, hurt by an 18 per cent drop in revenue to $540.1m. Difficult conditions in the fourth quarter to June were primarily to blame for the falls.

It swung to a net profit to $25.5m, helped by a near 13 per cent drop in expenses and $16m JobKeeper wage subsidy. That compared to a net loss of $95.7m last year, hurt by impairment charges against its television operations.

Southern Cross also told investors at the time that it doesn’t expect to resume paying dividends until the 2022 financial year after halting its dividend payments in April, alongside its $169m capital raising.