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Southern Cross Media Group Ltd

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FY2016 Annual Report · Southern Cross Media Group Ltd
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MEDIA
ENTERTAINMENT
RADIO
TV SOCIAL
EVENTS DIGITAL

A N N U A L 
R E P O R T
2 0 1 6

2  Southern Cross Austereo Annual Report

in Australia78

Radio 
stations 
#1 Radio Group 

50

years TV 
experience 

36

years radio 
experience 

107 free to air 

TV signals

#1 Radio Group 
Online

#1 Radio on 
Social

#1 total audience on 
digital radio

$650M

revenue

2500

staff

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  3

4  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

CONTENTS

Statistics Snapshot                                     

SCA Entertains Australia                     

The Most Loved Entertainment Brands

2-3

 6-7

8-9

Digital Media Innovation                                

10-11

Millions Watch SCA’s TV

Leading Commercial Solutions

Investing In Our People

Giving Back To The Community                         

Chairman’s Statement

CEO’s Report

Board of Directors 

Financial Report 

18-19

20-21

22-23

 24

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  5

12-13

14-15

16

17

 
SCA 
ENTERTAINS 
AUSTRALIA

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is Australia’s most 

SCA is home to some of Australia’s most loved 

diverse media and entertainment company, reaching all 

entertainment icons, with an impressive range of 

corners of Australia. 

engaging content that entertains millions of people 

across free to air television, 78 metropolitan and 

Uniquely in Australia’s media landscape, we create 

regional FM and AM radio stations, digital audio and 

and deliver radio and television to Australians living in 

radio, social media networks, online, mobile and unique 

our capital cities, our regional centres and our remote 

one-off events. 

areas. Using our household brands and building on 

these strengths, we are growing our assets as a broader 

Our broad suite of brands with high profi le national and 

media and entertainment company leading in social 

local celebrities and content experts creates more live 

media, online and mobile entertainment, digital audio 

and engaging entertainment than any other Australian 

businesses and music events. 

media organisation, making it one of Australia’s 

most exciting and progressive entertainment media 

companies.

6  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

 
  
78 OWNED STATIONS
Reaching over 6.4m Australians per week

107 TV SIGNALS
Reaching over 5.2m Australians per week

7 DIGITAL RADIO STATIONS

94 WEBSITES & 41 APPS

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  7

THE MOST LOVED 
ENTERTAINMENT 
BRANDS

Our portfolio includes a broad range of entertainment 

Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran. 

brands targeted to specifi c audiences. 

These international superstars have 

entertained Hit Network fans live 

We deliver entertainment based on in-depth consumer 

and provided world class content 

insights and research. We understand clearly how to 

across our online and social media 

connect to our listeners and viewers whether we are 

platforms.

on-air on one of our 78 radio stations, at a live event 

in regional Australia, running an interactive Facebook 

The Hit Network is primed 

campaign or using our multiplatform mediums. 

for continued growth as 

SCA is truly Australia’s most exciting and expansive 

we extend the Hit brand 

beyond the capital cities 

to include 45 of our 

regional stations into 

the Hit network 

family in late 2016.

entertainment company.

THE HIT NETWORK

Focusing on hit music and pop culture, the Hit Network 

connects with 3.5 million radio listeners, 8 million 

Facebook fans, 1.1 million Instagram followers and 

enjoys in excess of 1.6 million video views. The Hit 

brand continues to prove that it leads in engaging 

with audiences under 40 years of age. The Network 

boasts personalities who are hugely popular household 

names, including high profi le performers such as Rove 

McManus, Fifi  Box, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee, Osher 

Günsberg, Sam Frost and Emma Freedman. 

The Hit Network prides itself on delivering some of 

the most exciting and unique events for Hit and SCA 

audiences. Its live music arm, The World Famous 

Rooftop, has played host to artists such as Justin 

Bieber, Rudamental, Macklemoore and Ryan Lewis, 

8  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

TRIPLE M

Triple M is one of Australia’s most iconic entertainment 

brands which continues to represent the best rock, sport 

and comedy in the country, predominantly aimed at male 

listeners. Thirty years young, Triple M proudly continues 

to grow its audiences with great depth of talent centered 

around some of the most revered comedians, media gurus 

and sporting heroes, all presenting awesome show genres 

and line ups.

But Triple M is more than radio. Its 1.5 million Facebook 

followers, 400,000 Twitter followers and 337,000 monthly 

video views prove Triple M is as strong as ever in the ever 

evolving and growing online space.

Triple M is set to expand next year as 30 of our 

regional stations currently under the LocalWorks 

radio network will be brought into the Triple 

M family. This will deliver cohesive impact 

and greater overall brand value as it 

takes a group of highly successful and 

meaningful stations to a whole new 

level under the Triple M banner. 

TheLocalWorks stations will 

continue to offer a wide variety 

of music, great shows with 

fi rmly established and 

adored homegrown 

performers remaining 

focused on 

‘everything local’. 

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  9

DIGITAL MEDIA 
INNOVATION

DIGITAL RADIO ON THE RISE

In addition to streaming online and digital broadcast of 

2.3 million Twitter fans, 1.2 

many of our FM stations, we boast seven stand- alone 

million mobile app downloads 

digital stations. Together they cover a variety of music 

and 146,000 YouTube 

genres, reaching the biggest cumulative audience of any 

subscribers and growing. Next 

digital radio portfolio in the country. 

year we expect to continue 

to deliver digital leadership 

With consumption of digital radio continually growing, 

with forecast growth across 

we are leading the industry with our commitment to 

all online platforms.

investing in digital radio brands. Our current suite of 

stations is second to none with the chill-out station 

Buddha, kids radio station Kinderling, music genre 

stations Easy, Classic Rock, Modern Rock, Old Skool and 

country music favourite, The Range. 

94 WEBSITES, 41 APPS AND MILLIONS
ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA

Our commitment to being the entertainment leader 

means we are not only focused on broadcast media 

but also using our well established brands to connect 

audiences across vast online, mobile and social media 

destinations.

Our brands collectively deliver an expansive audience 

across multiple channels which give us an engaged and 

loyal fan base. This year saw us cement our success 

by achieving, #1 radio group online, #1 radio group 

on social media including 10.2 million Facebook fans 

delivering more engaged fans on Facebook than any 

other radio group, over 1 million Instagram followers, 

10  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  11

MILLIONS 
WATCH SCA’S TV

107 FREE TO AIR SIGNALS REACHING OVER 5.2M VIEWERS EACH WEEK

With free to air television channels from the Nine 

Cricket and its stable of high rating news and current 

Network, Ten Network and Seven Network, we entertain 

affairs programs. Progressively, we will enhance and 

and inform regional Australians in all Australian States 

upgrade our local news services in these markets. 

and Territories except Western Australia.

In an historic change in affi liation arrangements, 

for more than thirty years, we continue to broadcast 

starting on 1 July 2016 we are broadcasting Nine, Gem 

Channels Ten, One and Eleven in Northern NSW which 

Go! and 9Life to our viewers in the regional Queensland, 

includes the major centres of the Gold Coast

Continuing on an arrangement that has been in place 

Southern NSW and regional Victoria television markets. 

and Newcastle.

Now branded as Nine in these markets, we bring viewers 

Nine’s suite of channels including special events, 

We broadcast channels Seven, 7Mate and 7Two to 

drama, entertainment, sports such as the NRL and 

Tasmania, Darwin and the Remote Central and Eastern 

12  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Australia licence area and broadcast Nine, Ten and 

In partnership with the Federal Government, we are a 

Seven channels in the Broken Hill and Spencer

key player in the operation of the Viewer Access Satellite 

Gulf area. 

Television (VAST) satellite television service. VAST is a 

valuable service that ensures Australians who live and 

In addition and in joint venture with other broadcasting 

travel in remote Australia and black-spot areas with 

companies, we broadcast Nine channels in Tasmania 

poor TV reception are able to get a full range of digital 

and Ten channels in Darwin and Remote Central and 

channels and more than 20 channels of regional news 

Eastern Australia. 

coverage.

During the second half of 2016, we began broadcasting 

a new home shopping channel called YESSHOP to all 

our non-satellite markets. 

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  13

LEADING 
COMMERCIAL 
SOLUTIONS

SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO CONNECTS
OUR CLIENTS WITH CONSUMERS

Advertisers choose SCA because of our unprecedented 

This year we created ‘The Studio at SCA’, a 

ability to deliver them the engagement of our audiences 

market facing creative team who invite clients 

through our scale and depth of content and talent across 

into our business to collaborate directly with 

metropolitan and regional Australia.

our best creative talent. Using insight to drive 

ideation means we can develop more engaging 

With 34,000 advertisers across the country, many of 

ideas and solutions that connect with 

them small to medium enterprises we work to understand 

consumers. 

their needs and deploy resources to help them grow their 

businesses and in turn grow ours.

We will continue to build our ability to 

deliver audiences to our clients, and next 

We have aligned our metropolitan and regional sales 

year will see a new partnership with Vevo, 

strategies and become increasingly focused on taking 

giving us the exclusive rights to sell 

a multi-platform approach selling across our digital, 

Vevo’s content and digital inventory in 

radio and television assets so we can maximise the 

Australia. As a leading music platform, 

ability for our clients’ brands being able to connect with 

every month Vevo delivers some 176 

consumers.

million video streams and reaches 

9 million unique Australian users 

With 650 sales professionals across more than 60 

across a range of devices.

offi ces in metropolitan and regional Australia, and with 

signifi cant investment in research of economic trends, 

category history and audience insights, we can better 

understand our clients’ needs and match resources to 

meet them wherever they are. 

14  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  15

INVESTING
IN OUR PEOPLE

We employ over 2,000 full time employees  and an 

additional 600 casual and contracted staff. As a truly 

national media company, staff are spread across more 

DEVELOPING NEW SKILLS AND TALENT

In partnership with Charles Sturt University we have 

than 60 locations in every State and Territory working 

developed the SCA Academy, which each year invites up 

in content, news, sales, traffi c, promotions, technology, 

to 40 employees from across our business to undertake 

fi nance, legal and management.

an eleven week study program. The specifi cally tailored 

OUR VALUES 

SCA people share common values which guide our day-

to-day decisions and shape our individual and collective 

behaviour.

course is designed to give participants a broader 

knowledge of commercial radio and digital media, giving 

them the opportunity to learn new skills and further their 

careers. 

Each year we also offer several internal traineeships in 

engineering, technology and content production. 

ENGAGING OUR PEOPLE

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

We are committed to building positive and constructive 

relationships with all our people and we fi rmly believe 

engaged employees lead to improved business outcomes. 

Our annual employee engagement survey and culture 

audits help us understand how our people feel about 

their work environment and how we can implement 

genuine and noticeable change and improvement.

As a creative organisation, we are committed to diversity 

across both our on and off-air workforce. Over half of our 

employees are female and are well represented within 

management making up 50% of middle management 

roles and 23% of senior management roles. Females 

represent 30% of our on-air talent.

16  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

GIVING BACK
TO THE COMMUNITY

Our audiences and clients are at the heart of what we 

do and we connect with them by supporting various 

GIVE ME 5 FOR KIDS

community initiatives.

WORKING WITH CHARITIES

We support various charities both in Australia and 

overseas and regularly broadcast on-air Community 

Service Announcements on radio and television 

free of charge.

I BELIEVE IN CHRISTMAS

Our annual Christmas toy drive, in support of the 

Salvation Army Christmas Appeal, enables locals to 

donate toys to be placed under a Christmas tree in each 

stations reception.

Starting as a simple coin drive at one station, to date 

Give Me 5 for Kids has raised over $17m for Paediatric 

wards in regional Australia to purchase vital equipment 

to help sick children.

OZHARVEST, THE BLACK DOG INSTITUTE
AND CANTEEN

From September 2016, for the next two years, we 

will work with OzHarvest, The Black Dog Institute 

and CanTeen through our newly established charity 

partnership program designed to concentrate our 

resources to make a tangible difference to the community. 

These three organisations will be provided with support 

via Community Service Announcements and content 

opportunities across our radio and television assets.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  17

CHAIRMAN’S 
STATEMENT

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to 

At the time of the federal election 

present the Southern Cross Austereo Annual Report for 

being called in July 2016, legislation to 

the 2016 fi nancial year.

remove the reach rule (that prevents a person 

controlling commercial television licences which 

The year was a busy and successful one for Southern 

together broadcast to more than 75% of Australia’s 

Cross Austereo, highlighted by the landmark signing 

population) and the two out of three cross media rule 

of a new regional television affi liation agreement with 

(that prevents a person controlling a commercial radio 

the Nine Network. The transition to broadcast of Nine’s 

licence, a commercial television licence and a newspaper 

programs into regional Queensland, Southern NSW and 

in the same area) was under consideration. Having 

regional Victoria started on 1 July 2016 and the Group 

regard to the ongoing convergence and diversity of media 

is looking forward to a productive relationship with Nine 

platforms, these reforms, which include protection of 

for the fi ve year term of the new agreement and beyond. 

local content for regional communities, are overdue. 

We are also delighted to be continuing our long term 

Southern Cross Austereo supports these reforms and 

relationships with the Ten and Seven Networks, 

encourages the re-elected federal government to pursue 

particularly in the Northern NSW and Tasmania markets 

them and to consider further reforms to bring Australia’s 

respectively.

media regulation up to date with modern technology. 

In his fi rst year as CEO, Grant Blackley has streamlined 

Ongoing technological change and the prospect of 

and reinvigorated his leadership team and has delivered 

signifi cant regulatory change is creating opportunities 

the improved results you will read about in this report. It 

and challenges for our business. You should be assured 

is notable that revenue increased across all the Group’s 

that your Board and management are being proactive 

media assets, driven particularly by outperformance 

to protect and optimise the Group’s position in the new 

in metropolitan radio and regional television markets. 

media landscape. 

The Group also completed repair of its balance sheet 

during the year, reducing net debt to $340 million and 

The Group is also a proactive contributor to the 

the Group’s leverage ratio to 1.9 times at 30 June and 

community. This is primarily through our annual 

providing fi nancial fl exibility for the future. 

Give Me 5 for Kids campaign, which raises funds for 

children’s hospitals and children’s wards in regional 

I’m pleased to say that the Group’s robust fi nancial 

Australia. For the third year in a row, this campaign 

position has enabled the Board to declare fully franked 

raised over $2 million. Supported by the volunteer spirit 

dividends of 6.75 cents per share for the year, up from 

of our workforce, over 95% of these funds were donated 

6.0 cents per share in 2015. These dividends will be 

to charities. 

paid fully in cash without recourse to the dividend 

reinvestment plan.

The Group has also recently announced new partnerships 

for two years with OzHarvest, Black Dog Institute and 

Programming and management of on-air talent in the 

CanTeen which have causes aligned with the values 

Group’s market-leading radio business are ongoing 

and demographic profi le of our brands, audience and 

priorities, with strategies in place to secure key talent 

employees. We look forward to contributing our signifi cant 

and to identify and develop the next generation of talent 

media assets and workforce to help these organisations to 

for fl agship shows.

grow and develop their charitable activities.

18  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

I would like to thank Chris 

de Boer and Kathy Gramp for 

their counsel and contribution 

as directors. Chris retired in May 

after 11 years on the Board and as 

chair of the Audit & Risk Committee, while 

Kathy retired in June after nearly two years as a 

director. Continuing our planned approach to Board 

renewal and succession, we welcomed Melanie Willis 

as a director in May. Melanie has taken over as chair of 

the Audit & Risk Committee and we look forward to her 

contribution in years to come.

The Group’s results for the year are due to the efforts of 

all our 2500 employees and contractors, led by Grant 

Blackley and his senior leadership team. Through their 

efforts, Southern Cross Austereo continues to entertain 

and play an important role in the lives of 10 million 

people around Australia every week. Your Board is 

confi dent in the outlook for Southern Cross Austereo and 

we thank you for your continued support.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  19

20  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

CEO’S REPORT 

Dear Shareholders,

Southern Cross Austereo has reported growth across all 

The improved fi nancial performance coupled with 

key fi nancial measures with aggregate 5.1% revenue 

growth across metropolitan and regional media assets, 

the substantial reduction in net debt has reduced our 

leverage to 1.9x and provided considerable improved 

outperforming the market.

fi nancial stability. 

The company has reported an increase in NPAT of 19% 

up to $77.2m and a reduction in Net Debt by $166.7m 

or 32% to $340m. Balance sheet repair undertaken 

Restructuring the executive team has been completed 

with clear reporting lines and business drivers which has 

and will continue to improve accountability and business 

over the past two years is now complete.

performance.

The company’s sales performance has been a 

highlight for 2016 achieved by growing share in both 

metropolitan radio and regional television and from 

the positive market conditions experienced more 

broadly in the radio sector. Metropolitan radio 

Looking forward, SCA is committed to being a leading 

entertainment provider. We will continue to invest in 

content across our core radio brands and to increase the 

scale and appeal of our brands we will focus on creating 

more premium audio and video content across our 

businesses benefi tted from a growing market and 

platforms. We will also seek new content partnerships, 

increasing share with revenues increasing by 

over 8% to $242 million. Revenue gains have 

offset the substantial investment in content 

and marketing across both the Triple M and 

Hit networks, in particular with the return 

of Hamish and Andy and the Rove and 

Sam breakfast show.

In a fi fth consecutive year of growth, 

our regional radio assets continued to 

grow with revenue growth of 6.1% 

this year supported by 21 regional 

such as our recently completed transaction with Vevo to 

add weight and diversifi cation to our existing asset base 

and we will look further at ways to diversify our media 

streams, particularly taking advantage of new platforms 

and increasing digital radio consumption.

In regional television, the affi liation switch to Nine 

marks the most signifi cant change in regional television 

in the last 30 years and the changeover that occurred 

on 1 July was seamless. This deal has increased the 

company’s exposure to higher audiences and importantly 

greater exposure to key live sports including the cricket 

surveys conducted in the year.

and rugby league.

The balance sheet has been 

signifi cantly improved following 

the $166 million reduction in 

We have successfully negotiated a fi ve year extension 

to the affi liation agreement with Ten in Northern New 

South Wales that maintains our broad regional television 

net debt in the year largely 

through divesting non-core 

assets, principally land in 

excess of our needs and 

from execution of a long 

term agreement with 

the Australian Traffi c 

Network resulting in 

payment of $100 

million upfront. 

license coverage. 

This completes my fi rst year as CEO of Southern 

Cross Austereo. The company has an excellent set 

of high quality media assets and I’m very pleased by 

the progress that has been made this year and in our 

prospects for the future. 

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  21

ROBERT MURRAY
DIRECTOR

LEON PASTERNAK
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN

MELANIE WILLIS
DIRECTOR

PETER BUSH
CHAIRMAN

ROBERT MURRAY
DIRECTOR

MELANIE WILLIS
DIRECTOR

Appointed: 1 September 2014

Appointed: 26 May 2016

Most recently elected by shareholders: 21 October 2014

Board Committees: Chair, Audit & Risk Committee

Board Committees: People & Culture Committee, 

Nomination Committee

Melanie has fi nancial and professional services experience 

in Executive and Non-Executive roles in a range of 

Robert Murray has had a distinguished career in sales, 

industries, including accounting and fi nancial planning, 

marketing and general management, most recently as 

infrastructure, property investment management, and 

the CEO of Lion (fomerly Lion Nathan). Before joining 

retail services. She has held non-executive directorship 

Lion Nathan, Rob worked for Proctor & Gamble for 12 

roles at Aevum Limited, Hydro Tasmania, Rhodium Asset 

years, and for eight years with Nestlé, as MD of the UK 

Solutions, Crowe Horwath and Club Assist Limited, as well 

Food business, and then as CEO of Nestlé Oceania. Rob 

as senior executive roles with Deutsche Bank, Bankers 

is a board member of the Bestest Foundation and is 

Trust Australia and NRMA Investments. Melanie is 

Chairman of Metcash Ltd.

currently a non-executive director of Mantra Group, Ardent 

Leisure Group and Pepper Financial Services Group.

LEON PASTERNAK
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN

Appointed: 26 September 2005

PETER BUSH
CHAIRMAN

Most recently elected by shareholders: 21 October 2014

Appointed: 25 February 2015

Board Committees: Chairman, People & Culture 

Most recently elected by shareholders: 29 October 2015

Committee

Board Committees: Chairman, Nomination Committee

Until July 2010, Leon Pasternak was a senior corporate 

Peter Bush had a distinguished career in executive roles 

partner at Freehills (now Herbert Smith Freehills) 

spanning the media, FMCG, advertising and consumer 

specialising in mergers and acquisitions, public 

products sectors. He also brings considerable and highly 

fi nance and corporate reorganisations. Until February 

respected public company directorship experience to 

2014, Leon held the positions of Vice Chairman and 

Southern Cross Media Group. Peter is currently Chairman 

Managing Director with Merrill Lynch Markets (Australia) 

of Mantra Group Ltd. He has previously served on the 

Pty Limited (a subsidiary of Bank of America) with 

boards of Pacifi c Brands Ltd, Nine Entertainment 

responsibility for the fi nancial institutions group and 

Holdings, Insurance Australia Group, Miranda Wines, 

mergers and acquisitions.

McDonald’s Australia Limited and Lion Nathan.

22  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

GRANT BLACKLEY
CEO & MANAGING DIRECTOR

 HELEN NASH
DIRECTOR

 PETER HARVIE
DIRECTOR

GLEN BOREHAM
DIRECTOR

GRANT BLACKLEY
CEO AND MANAGING DIRECTOR

PETER HARVIE
DIRECTOR

Appointed: 29 June 2015

Appointed: 1 August 2011

Most recently elected by shareholders: 29 October 2015

Most recently elected by shareholders: 29 October 2015

Grant Blackley is the Chief Executive Offi cer and 

Board Committees: Nomination Committee

Managing Director. Grant’s media industry career spans 

Peter Harvie has more than 45 years’ experience in the 

over 30 years with senior leadership roles at the TEN 

advertising, marketing and media industries. Peter was 

Network, including as CEO from 2005 to 2010. Grant 

the Executive Chairman of Austereo Group Limited from 

also served in key roles in network sales, digital media 

2001 until May 2011, Executive Chairman of Austereo 

and multi-channel program development as well as being 

Pty Ltd, Managing Director of the Triple M Network 

responsible for group strategy, acquisitions and executive 

and founder and Managing Director of the Clemenger 

development programs. Before joining Southern Cross 

Harvie advertising agency from 1974 to 1993. He is also 

Media Group, Grant was a partner in RGM Artists and 

Chairman of CHE Proximity (Clemenger BBDO Group).

Founder of Four Seasons Media.

HELEN NASH
DIRECTOR

GLEN BOREHAM AM
DIRECTOR

Appointed: 1 September 2014

Appointed: 23 April 2015

Most recently elected by shareholders: 21 October 2014

Most recently elected by shareholders: 29 October 2015

Board Committees: Audit & Risk Committee

Board Committees: Audit & Risk Committee

Glen Boreham AM had a distinguished career at IBM 

Helen Nash has more than 20 years’ experience in 

culminating as Chief Executive Offi cer and Managing 

brands and marketing, including in FMCG at Procter & 

Director, IBM Australia and New Zealand from 2006 

Gamble, and in publishing at IPC Media. Over nearly 10 

to 2010. Glen was the inaugural Chair of Screen 

years, she has held a variety of senior executive roles at 

Australia, and also chaired the Australian Government’s 

McDonald’s Australia Ltd, including as Chief Operating 

Convergence Review of the media industry. He is Chair 

Offi cer, overseeing restaurant operations, marketing, 

of the Industry Advisory Board at the University of 

menu, insights and research and information technology. 

Technology Sydney, and Chair of Advance. He is a non-

Helen is a non-executive director of Blackmores Ltd and 

executive director of Cochlear Limited and Link Group 

Metcash Ltd.

Limited.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report  23

FINANCIAL 
REPORT

2016

24  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

CONTENTS

Corporate Governance Statement 

Directors’ Report  

Review and Results of Operations 

Distributions and Dividends 

Signifi cant Changes in State of Affairs 

Events Occurring After Balance Date 

Likely Developments and Expected Results of Operations 

Indemnifi cation and Insurance of Offi cers and Auditors 

Non-Audit Services 

Environmental Regulation 

Information on Directors 

Information on Company Secretary 

Meetings of Directors 

Remuneration Report 

Auditor’s Independence Declaration 

Statement of Comprehensive Income 

Statement of Financial Position 

Statement of Changes in Equity 

Statement of Cash Flows 

Notes to the Financial Statements 

Key Numbers 

Capital Management 

Group Structure 

Other  

Directors’ Declaration 

Independent Auditor’s Report 

Additional Stock Exchange Information 

Corporate Directory 

26

26

26

29

29

29

29

29

29

29

30

31

31

32

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

63

71

73

80

81

83

IBC

The fi nancial statements were authorised for issue by the Directors on 
25 August 2016. The Directors have the power to amend and re-issue 
the fi nancial statements. 

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 25

DIRECTORS’ REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

 Corporate Governance Statement
The statement outlining Southern Cross Media Group 
Limited’s corporate governance framework and practices in 
the form of a report against the Australian Stock Exchange 
Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations, 
3rd Edition, will be available on the Southern Cross Austereo 
website, www.southerncrossaustereo.com.au, under the investor 
relations tab in accordance with listing rule 4.10.3 when the 2016 
Annual Report is lodged. The 2016 Corporate Governance Statement 
is available in the 2016 Annual Report on the website. 

Directors’ Report 
The Directors of Southern Cross Media Group Limited (“the 
Company”) submit the following report for Southern Cross Austereo, 
being Southern Cross Media Group Limited and its subsidiaries 
(“the Group”) for the year ended 30 June 2016. In order to comply 
with the provisions of the Corporations Act 2001, the Directors 
report as follows:

Directors
The following persons were Directors of the Company during the 
whole of the year, unless otherwise stated, and up to the date 
of this report:
 – Peter Bush (Chairman)
 – Leon Pasternak (Deputy Chairman)
 – Grant Blackley
 – Glen Boreham
 – Peter Harvie 
 – Rob Murray
 – Helen Nash
 – Melanie Willis (appointed 26 May 2016)
 – Chris de Boer (resigned 26 May 2016)
 – Kathy Gramp (resigned 21 June 2016)

Principal Activities
The principal activities of the Group during the course of the fi nancial 
year were the creation and broadcasting of content on free-to-
air commercial radio (AM, FM and digital), TV and online media 
platforms across Australia. These media assets are monetised via 
revenue generated from the development and sale of advertising 
solutions for clients. 

There were no changes in the nature of the Group during the year.

Review and Results of Operations

Operational Review
Group Results
The Group reported revenues of $642.3 million, up 5.1% on the 
prior year revenues of $611.1 million, and Earnings before Interest, 
Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (“EBITDA”) of $167.7 million, 
up 2.7% on prior year EBITDA of $163.3 million. Net Profi t after Tax 
(“NPAT”) of $77.2 million is up 127.1% on a prior year NPAT loss 
of $285.0 million. Prior year results included impairment charges 
against intangible assets of $361.4 million; excluding this signifi cant 
item, NPAT is up 19.2% on the prior year adjusted NPAT of 
$64.8 million. Net fi nancing costs of $24.7 million were down 35.9% 
on prior year net fi nancing costs of $38.5 million, which has made a 
signifi cant contribution to the year on year growth in NPAT.

26  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Signifi cant Items 
In 2016, there are no signifi cant items.

During 2015, the Group recognised impairment charges against 
intangible assets of $361.4 million, $276.5 million of which 
related to the Metropolitan Free to Air Broadcasting (“Metro”) Cash 
Generating Unit (“CGU”) and $84.9 million related to the Regional 
Free to Air Broadcasting (“Regional”) Cash Generating Unit. 

Segment Profi t and Loss

Regional
Metro
Corporate
Total Revenue

EBITDA
Regional
Metro
Corporate
Total EBITDA

Group NPAT
Group NPAT (excluding 
signifi cant items)

2016
$’m

382.3
242.3
17.8
642.3

131.1
51.4
(14.8)
167.7

77.2

77.2

2015
$’m

361.6
224.1
25.4
611.1

114.7
57.8
(9.2)
163.3

Variance

5.7%
8.1%
(30.1%)
5.1%

14.3%
(11.1%)
(60.9%)
2.7%

(284.9)

127.1%

64.8

19.2%

Regional
The Regional business consists of a number of regional radio and 
regional television licences. Each regional television licence has a 
metropolitan television network affi liate that supplies the majority of 
programming for the licence. The Regional business has fi nished the 
2016 year with revenue of $382.3 million, up 5.7% on the prior year, 
and EBITDA of $131.1 million, up 14.3% on the prior year. 

Advertising revenues, which account for 92.1% of total Regional 
revenues, are $352.3 million for the year and are up 4.5% on 2015. 
Television markets have remained challenging throughout the year 
and are back 6.1% on 2015. Despite this we have seen our Television 
revenues grow by 3.1%. This is due to the combination of a growing 
Channel Ten audience, up 1.3 points to 22.4% of total commercial 
audience and improved monetisation of this audience, revenue share 
up 2.1 points to 21.6% of total commercial TV markets.

Regional radio continues to be a strong performer with advertising 
revenues of $162.1 million, up 6.1% on 2015. Locally, our large 
and diverse client base continues to grow with Local revenues up 
5.3% to $112.3 million. From a national perspective, the completion 
of regional audience surveys in a number of regional radio markets 
has provided a basis for increased investment from National agency 
clients with revenues up 7.9% on 2015 to $49.8 million.

As part of our Group-wide capital management strategy we have 
been divesting non-core assets and included in the 2016 Regional 
revenues is $5.6 million profi t arising from the sale of both 
transmission sites and offi ce premises. Where necessary these offi ce 
premises have been leased back. 

Including the one-off profi t on the sale of non-core assets, the 
Regional EBITDA result is up 14.3% to $131.1 million; excluding 
the non-recurring profi t on sale of assets the Regional EBITDA result 
is up 9.4% to $125.5 million. Cost control remains a key focus of 
the Regional business and we are pleased to see EBITDA margins 
(excluding the non-recurring profi t on the sale of assets) improve from 
31.7% in 2015 to 32.8% in 2016. 

The $100 million payment has been recorded on the balance 
sheet under “Deferred Income” and will be released to the Income 
Statement over a 30-year period, unless the contract ends after 20 
years at which point the remaining balance will be recognised as 
revenue in year 20. This treatment will match the receipt of future 
broadcasting services, airtime and traffi c management services that 
the Group is required to provide over the life of the contract.

Metro
The Metro business consists of two complementary radio brands 
operating in the Australian capital cities along with the digital assets 
associated with these two brands. The brands target different 
audience demographics with the Triple M network skewed towards 
males in the 25 to 54 age bracket and the Hit Network targeted 
towards females in the 18 to 39 age bracket. The continued success 
of our Triple M brand combined with the increased investment in 
the Hit Network is showing positive results, with reported revenues 
of $242.3 million, up 8.1% on the prior year revenues of $224.1 
million and this improvement was entirely due to growing advertising 
revenues which make up 92% of total Metro revenue.

Overall, the metropolitan free-to-air radio advertising market remains 
strong with growth of 5.9% throughout the 2016 fi nancial year 
with the Group’s market share increasing from 27.8% in 2015 to 
28.7% in 2016. 

Improving the market share of the Hit Network remains a key priority 
of the Group and we have continued to invest heavily in content to 
achieve this objective. The launch of Rove & Sam in Sydney Breakfast 
and the strengthening of other key Breakfast shows around the Hit 
Network, together with the return of Hamish & Andy to the national 
Drive show, has led to our female 18 to 39 audience share increasing 
to 18.5%, up 3.91 points on the same time last year. Metro EBITDA 
of $51.4 million is down 11.0% on 2015 and has been impacted 
by the increasing investment in content that, due to the ratings to 
revenue lag, is yet to be fully monetised. In addition to the investment 
in radio content, we continue to invest in the creation of new digital 
content which will provide future revenue opportunities to the Group. 

Corporate
The Corporate business comprises the Group-wide centralised 
functions of the Group, as well as the results of the Canberra FM 
radio business in which the Group has a 50% shareholding. The 2016 
results have been impacted by a non-cash, $5.0 million net loss on 
the sale of owned Telecommunication assets which were divested in 
the second half of the fi nancial year. 

Financial position
The fi nancial position of the Group has strengthened considerably 
with net debt reducing by $166.7 million to $340.2 million and the 
leverage ratio improving to 1.9 times, well below the covenant of 3.5 
times. The improved fi nancial position is the result of the execution 
of the Group’s capital management strategy which involved the 
divestment of non-core assets, stabilisation of operating results and 
increased cash fl ow through improved debt management. 

During the year, the Group entered into a long-term contract with 
Australian Traffi c Network (“ATN”) for it to provide traffi c reports for 
broadcast on Southern Cross Austereo (“SCA”) radio stations. SCA 
received payment of $100 million from ATN in return for its stations 
broadcasting advertising tags provided by ATN attached to news and 
traffi c reports. The contract has a term of 20 years, with an option 
for ATN to extend it by a further 10 years. Additionally, there will 
be an annual recurring payment to SCA of $2.75 million beginning 
from 1 February 2017. This will be indexed annually by the lower 
of CPI and 2.5%. 

Strategic Update 
The 2016 fi nancial year has seen the Group execute on a number 
of key strategic objectives:
1.   Reduction in net debt has strengthened the fi nancial 

stability of the Group;

2.   New TV affi liation agreements with Channel Nine have improved 

the outlook for the Group’s TV assets;

3.   Increased investment in Metro radio content is improving audience 

share, with more work still to be done in some key markets;

4.   Yield focussed sales strategy is delivering revenue growth across 
all assets, including share growth across both Metro Radio and 
Television; and

5.   A number of key appointments have been made to strengthen the 

Executive Management team.

The work that has been completed throughout 2016 leaves the Group 
well positioned to continue to execute on its operational improvement 
strategy and the Group remains committed to:
1.   Improving the monetisation of its assets through improved yield 

and inventory management;

2.   Selectively acquiring assets that can extend or leverage from the 

existing scale and reach of the Group;

3.   Continuing to grow audience share across the Hit and 

Triple M networks;

4.   Increasing the exposure of the Group to growing Digital markets;
5.   Pursuing growth opportunities that are based on further leveraging 

the Content and Sales strengths of the Group; and
6.   Improving the operational effi ciency of the Group by 

streamlining processes and improving the back of house 
effi ciency of the Group. 

2017 Outlook
Both Regional and Metro radio have started the year positively with 
results so far showing year on year growth. Television markets remain 
challenged; however our transition to Nine has been successful 
and trading is in line with our expectations. We expect advertising 
revenues across all three assets to continue to grow throughout 2017 
and full year EBITDA to be in the range of $177 to $183 million, up 
6% to 9% on 2016.

1GFK Ratings Survey 4 2016.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 27

DIRECTORS’ REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Review and Results of Operations (continued)
Material Risks
Business and operational risks that could affect the achievement of the Group’s fi nancial prospects include the following risks:

Risk
Decrease in the size of 
the free-to-air (“FTA”) 
television market at a faster 
rate than forecast

Finding and retaining 
good on-air talent

Mitigation Strategies
The Group has seen a decline in the television market of 6.1% year on year. Whilst there has been a continued 
shift towards digital advertising, there is a recognition that FTA television continues to deliver mass audiences 
and hence has a key place in media buying strategies. 

The Group maintains a focus on market share. During the year the Group signed a fi ve year affi liation agreement 
with Nine, commencing on 1 July 2016, in Southern New South Wales and Regional Victoria and Queensland. 
Nine programming has traditionally delivered a signifi cantly higher audience than Ten across these territories, 
providing a revenue upside.

The Group’s sales teams are developing a Regional Development Program to highlight areas of opportunity in 
regional markets where there is an underinvestment in media spend on a per capita basis.

The Group is a diversifi ed business covering television, radio and online, which provides a degree of protection 
against individual market weaknesses. As a television affi liate the Group pays a percentage of revenue to the 
broadcast partners meaning television has a higher variable cost structure than our radio or online businesses, 
which reduces the profi t impact of any potential decline in revenue. 
Finding and retaining good on-air talent is a key to retaining and growing audience share, and the Group is 
committed to developing talent across its national network of radio stations. 

The Group maintains a risk-based (opportunity) approach to unearthing and developing new talent. The nature 
of the Group’s regional and metro radio assets provides an opportunity for developing talent to be moved from 
smaller to larger markets over time. 

Decline in or loss of metro 
audience share leading to a 
loss of revenue

Contracts are used to lock talent in for certain periods of time. The development of successful off-air teams that 
ensure high quality programming is also important in developing the loyalty of on-air talent to the Group.
The green shoots of improvement seen last year for both the Hit Network and Triple M were realised by the 
Group in 2016, which has seen a gain in metro audience share over the year, with full year market share of 
28.7% compared to 27.8% in 2015.

Threat of digital media 
(including television, 
radio, social) – emergence 
and convergence

This shows the success of the Group’s mitigation strategies, such as:

 – Investing in and retaining talent, as described above, including the return of the Hamish & Andy drive radio 

show and the start of the Rove & Sam breakfast show in Sydney;

 – Securing sporting rights; and
 – Ongoing investment in On-Air tactics.
With new alternative digital platforms and technologies emerging, there is a risk that the Group loses market 
share to alternative digital platforms and technologies, or fails to fully exploit the opportunity digital media 
represents for the business to lock in and grow new audience loyalty, or suffers fi nancial loss due to a transfer 
of advertising spend to digital media.

The Group has employed a team of digital experts, which are now integrated into the Group’s day-to-day 
operations in order to leverage existing content and sales capabilities.

The Group invests in targeting digital audiences through the rebroadcast of its radio stations online and the 
extension of its Hit and Triple M radio brands across many digital platforms. The Hit and Triple M digital 
platforms are the number one and two radio brands in the country with unique audiences of 589,000 and 
570,000 respectively1.

The Group’s social strategy is to create original content that will engage a local audience, driving loyalty to the 
brands and providing multi-media content that can be monetised through advertising. The Group has developed 
key partnerships with technology and content partners to ensure a competitive product offering. The Group 
continues to lead the radio industry in social media engagement, with a Facebook domestic engagement of over 
2.3 million – more than double our nearest competitor2.

1 Nielsen Market Intelligence, Figures for June ’16.
2 Facebook API 28 Day People Talking About This (AU) – recorded 1 June 2016. 

28  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Community Involvement
As a local media organisation, the Group acknowledges its role in 
the fabric of regional and rural communities and is committed to 
making a positive impact on local communities. The Group’s local 
radio and television services keep communities up to date on the 
issues that matter to them, as well as providing local skilled jobs, 
promoting events, supporting local businesses, providing advertising 
opportunities and supporting community initiatives. In consultation 
with emergency and essential services organisations, the Group 
maintains procedures to broadcast warnings and information where 
there is an existing or threatened emergency.

Indemnifi cation and Insurance of Offi cers 
and Auditors
During the year the Company paid a premium of $160,847 to insure 
its offi cers. So long as the offi cers of the Company act in accordance 
with the Constitution and the law, the offi cers remain indemnifi ed 
out of the assets of the Company and the Group against any losses 
incurred while acting on behalf of the Company and the Group. 
The auditors of the Group are in no way indemnifi ed out of the 
assets of the Group.

The Group’s fl agship charity program is Give Me 5 For Kids, a charity 
with over 20 years of history raising money to support local children’s 
hospitals and wards in regional Australia. The 2016 Give Me 5 For 
Kids campaign raised over $1.5 million for the third successive year. 
Over 95% of funds raised are donated to charities.

Non-Audit Services
The Company may decide to employ the auditor on assignments 
additional to their statutory audit duties where the auditor’s expertise 
and experience with the Group are important.

The Group also supports a range of local charities each year, including 
through the “I Believe in Christmas” appeal which collects toys for 
distribution by the Salvation Army to families and children in need.

Details of the amounts paid or payable to the auditor 
(PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia) for audit and non-audit services 
provided during the year are set out in note 21.

The Board has considered the position and, in accordance with advice 
received from the Audit and Risk Committee, is satisfi ed that the 
provision of the non-audit services is compatible with the general 
standard of independence for auditors imposed by the Corporations 
Act 2001. The Directors are satisfi ed that the provision of non-audit 
services by the auditor did not compromise the auditor independence 
requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 for the following reasons:
 – all non-audit services have been reviewed by the Audit and Risk 
Committee to ensure they do not impact the impartiality and 
objectivity of the auditor; and

 – none of the services undermine the general principles relating to 
auditor independence as set out in APES 110 Code of Ethics for 
Professional Accountants.

Environmental Regulation
The operations of the Group are not subject to any signifi cant 
environmental regulations under Australian Commonwealth, State 
or Territory law. The Directors are not aware of any breaches of any 
environmental regulations.

Distributions and Dividends

Type
Final 2015 
Ordinary
Interim 2016 
Ordinary

Cents 
per share

Total Amount 
$’m

Date of 
Payment

3.00

3.25

22.6

4 November 2015

25.0

6 May 2016

Since the end of the fi nancial year the Directors have declared the 
payment of a fi nal 2016 ordinary dividend of $26.9 million (3.5 cents 
per fully paid share) out of current year earnings. This dividend will be 
paid on 11 October 2016 by the Company.

Signifi cant Changes in State of Affairs
In the opinion of the Directors, there were no signifi cant changes 
in the state of affairs of the Group that occurred during the 
year under review.

Events Occurring After Balance Date
Events occurring after balance date are outlined in note 24 “Events 
Occurring after Balance Date” to the Financial Statements.

Likely Developments and Expected Results 
of Operations
Further information on likely developments relating to the operations 
of the Group in future years and the expected results of those 
operations have not been included in this report because the 
Directors of the Company believe it would be likely to result in 
unreasonable prejudice to the commercial interests of the Group.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 29

DIRECTORS’ REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Information on Directors

Chairman

Peter Bush

Appointed 25 February 2015

Most recently elected by shareholders: 29 October 2015

Board Committees: Chairman, Nomination Committee

Peter Bush had a distinguished career in executive roles spanning the media, FMCG, advertising and consumer 
products sectors. He also brings considerable and highly respected public company directorship experience to 
Southern Cross Media Group. Peter is currently Chairman of Mantra Group Ltd. He has previously served on the 
boards of Pacifi c Brands Ltd, Nine Entertainment Holdings, Insurance Australia Group, Miranda Wines, McDonald’s 
Australia Limited and Lion Nathan.
Appointed 26 September 2005

Most recently elected by shareholders: 21 October 2014

Board Committees: Chairman, People & Culture Committee

Until July 2010, Leon Pasternak was a senior corporate partner at Freehills (now Herbert Smith Freehills) specialising 
in mergers and acquisitions, public fi nance and corporate reorganisations. Until February 2014, Leon held the 
positions of Vice Chairman and Managing Director with Merrill Lynch Markets (Australia) Pty Limited (a subsidiary 
of Bank of America) with responsibility for the fi nancial institutions group and mergers and acquisitions.
Appointed 29 June 2015

Most recently elected by shareholders: 29 October 2015

Grant Blackley joined the Board in June 2015 as Chief Executive Offi cer and Managing Director. Grant’s media 
industry career spans over 30 years during which time he served in numerous senior leadership roles at the 
TEN Network, including as CEO from 2005 to 2010. Throughout this period he also held directorships at Free 
TV and Freeview Australia. Prior to becoming CEO, Grant served in key roles in network sales, digital media and 
multi-channel program development as well as being responsible for Group strategy, acquisitions and executive 
development programs. Before joining Southern Cross Media Group, Grant was CEO of the Keystone Group, Partner 
in RGM Artists and Founder of Four Seasons Media.
Appointed 1 September 2014

   Deputy Chairman

Leon Pasternak

CEO and 
Managing Director

Grant Blackley

Director

Glen Boreham AM

Most recently elected by shareholders: 21 October 2014

Board Committees: Audit & Risk Committee

Glen Boreham AM had a distinguished career at IBM culminating in the role of Chief Executive Offi cer and Managing 
Director, IBM Australia and New Zealand from 2006 to 2010. Glen was the inaugural Chair of Screen Australia from 
2008 to 2014, and also chaired the Australian Government’s Convergence Review of the media industry. Glen is 
Chair of the Industry Advisory Board at the University of Technology Sydney, and Chair of Advance, representing the 
one million Australians living overseas. He is a non-executive director of Cochlear Limited and Link Group Limited.
Appointed 1 August 2011

Director

Peter Harvie

Most recently elected by shareholders: 29 October 2015

Board Committees: Nomination Committee

Peter Harvie has more than 45 years’ experience in the advertising, marketing and media industries. Prior to joining 
the Board of Southern Cross Media Group, Peter was the Executive Chairman of Austereo Group Limited from 2001 
until May 2011, Executive Chairman of Austereo Pty Ltd, Managing Director of the Triple M Network and founder and 
Managing Director of the Clemenger Harvie advertising agency from 1974 to 1993. He is Chairman of CHE Proximity 
(Clemenger BBDO Group). Peter was a non-executive director of Village Roadshow Ltd until February 2016.
Appointed 1 September 2014

Director

Robert Murray

Most recently elected by shareholders: 21 October 2014

Board Committees: People & Culture Committee, Nomination Committee

Robert Murray has had a distinguished career in sales, marketing and general management having served most 
recently as the CEO of Lion (formerly Lion Nathan), one of Australasia’s leading food and beverage companies, 
including during its acquisition by Kirin Holdings in 2009. Before joining Lion Nathan in 2004, Rob worked for 
Proctor & Gamble for 12 years, and then for eight years with Nestlé, fi rstly as MD of the UK Food business, and from 
2000 to 2004 as CEO of Nestlé Oceania. Rob is a board member of the Bestest Foundation and is Chairman of 
Metcash Ltd. Rob was Chairman of Dick Smith Holdings Limited until June 2016.

30  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Director

Helen Nash

Appointed 23 April 2015

Most recently elected by shareholders: 29 October 2015

Board Committees: Audit & Risk Committee

Helen Nash has more than 20 years’ experience in brands and marketing, including seven years in FMCG at 
Procter & Gamble, followed by three years in publishing at IPC Media. Helen held a variety of senior executive 
roles at McDonald’s Australia Ltd over a period of nearly 10 years, including the position of Chief Operating Offi cer, 
overseeing restaurant operations, marketing, menu, insights and research and information technology. Helen is 
also a non-executive director of Blackmores Ltd and Metcash Ltd. She was formerly a non-executive director of 
Pacifi c Brands Ltd.
Appointed 26 May 2016

Director

Melanie Willis

Board Committees: Chair, Audit & Risk Committee

Melanie has extensive fi nancial and professional services experience in both executive and non-executive roles 
in a wide range of industries, including accounting and fi nancial planning, infrastructure, property investment 
management, and retail services (including tourism and start-up ventures). During the last 10 years, Melanie 
has held non-executive directorship roles at Aevum Limited (including Audit Committee Chair), Hydro Tasmania 
(including Audit & Risk Committee Member), Rhodium Asset Solutions, Crowe Horwath and Club Assist Limited, 
as well as senior executive roles with Deutsche Bank (Director), Bankers Trust Australia (Vice President) and NRMA 
Investments (CEO). Melanie is currently a non-executive director of Mantra Group, Ardent Leisure Group and Pepper 
Financial Services Group.

Information on Company Secretary

General Counsel and 
Company Secretary

Appointed 7 September 2015 

Tony Hudson has over 20 years’ experience in senior legal and governance roles. Tony was General Counsel and 
Company Secretary at ConnectEast from 2005 until 2015. Before that, Tony was a partner of Blake Dawson Waldron 
(now Ashurst Australia), working in the fi rm’s Melbourne offi ce and from 1993 until 2000 in its Jakarta associated 
offi ce. Tony is also a director of The Wheeler Centre.

Meetings of Directors
The number of meetings of the Board of Directors and its committees that were held during the year and the number of meetings attended 
by each Director are summarised in the table below.

Director
Peter Bush
Leon Pasternak
Grant Blackley
Chris de Boer 
Glen Boreham2
Kathy Gramp2
Peter Harvie
Rob Murray2
Helen Nash
Melanie Willis2

Board 

Audit & Risk

People & Culture1

Meetings of Committees

Attended
11
10
12
12
12
12
12
12
11
1

Held
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
1

Attended
*
*
*
5
4
6
*
1
6
1

Held
*
*
*
5
4
6
*
2
6
1

Attended
*
6
*
5
2
6
*
4
2
*

Held
*
6
*
5
2
6
*
4
2
*

Held refers to the number of meetings held during the time the Director held offi ce or was a member of the committee during the year.

* Not a member of the relevant committee during the year
1   The People & Culture Committee was known as the Remuneration Committee until 24 September 2015. 
2  Glen Boreham ceased to be a member of the People & Culture Committee and became a member of the Audit & Risk Committee on 24 September 2015. Rob Murray 
ceased to be a member of the Audit & Risk Committee and became a member of the People & Culture Committee on 24 September 2015. Chris de Boer ceased to 
be a member of the Audit & Risk Committee and the People & Culture Committee on his resignation on 26 May 2016. Melanie Willis became a member of the Audit 
& Risk Committee on 26 May 2016. Kathy Gramp ceased to be a member of the Audit & Risk Committee and the People & Culture Committee on her resignation 
on 21 June 2016.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 31

 
REMUNERATION REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Letter from People & Culture Committee
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present the Company’s 
2016 Remuneration Report. The People & Culture Committee 
(“PCC”) assists the Board in its oversight of management activities 
in developing and implementing strategies to improve the Company’s 
culture and diversity, consistent with our values. During the year, the 
committee’s name was changed from the Remuneration Committee, 
refl ecting the stronger focus of the Board and senior leadership team 
on the culture of the Company. However, an important part of the 
committee’s role remains to ensure that the Company’s remuneration 
policies are aligned with the creation of value for shareholders, having 
regard to applicable governance, legal and regulatory requirements 
and industry standards. 

The Company delivered strong fi nancial performance during the year. 
This has translated into improved returns for shareholders. Compared 
to the prior corresponding period, the Company’s revenue increased 
by 5.1% to $642.3 million and net profi t after tax increased by 
19.2% to $77.2 million. The Company has reduced its net debt 
during the year by 32.9% to $340.2 million, providing an ongoing 
benefi t of reduced fi nancing costs. Dividends of 6.75 cents per share 
are 12.5% higher than for the previous fi nancial year. 

These results are due to a signifi cant change program led by the 
Company’s new CEO and Managing Director, Grant Blackley, and 
supported by the Board. Long-term agreements signed during the 
year with the Nine Network (for three aggregated regional television 
markets), the Ten Network (for the northern New South Wales 
market) and Australian Traffi c Network have provided fi nancial and 
operational stability, as well as impetus and opportunity for the 
Company to continue to grow revenues and returns across all of its 
media platforms. 

Some of the key organisational and operational changes implemented 
during the year, along with changes to be made to the Company’s 
executive remuneration framework in the year ahead, are 
described below. 

 – Streamlined senior leadership team: The number of executives 
reporting to the CEO has been reduced from more than ten to 
fi ve, each with clear areas of accountability. This senior leadership 
team comprises the Company’s executive Key Management 
Personnel (“KMP”) for the purposes of the Remuneration Report.
 – New appointments: Brian Gallagher joined as Chief Sales Offi cer 
in July 2015 and John Kelly was appointed to the newly created 
role of Chief Operating Offi cer in February 2016. Reporting lines 
below each of them and other members of the senior leadership 
team have been restructured to enhance collaborative effort in 
sales across the Group’s radio, television and digital platforms and 
in content creation and operational functions.

 – Benchmarking executive remuneration: The PCC engaged KPMG 
during the year to prepare an independent benchmarking report 
which found that the base remuneration of the senior leadership 
team in 2016 was broadly aligned with the median remuneration 
levels of executives with corresponding roles in companies in the 
comparator group but that variable remuneration was signifi cantly 
underweight. The Board used the KPMG benchmarking report 
as a key input in determining the adjustments to be made to the 
Company’s executive remuneration framework. The benchmarked 
comparator group comprised 25 S&P/ASX200 companies 
above and 25 S&P/ASX200 companies below the Company’s 
12-month average market capitalisation as at 30 June 2015, 
excluding trusts, metals and mining, healthcare, fi nancials, 
energy, construction and engineering, building products, airlines, 
aerospace and defence, and paper and forest products and 
including selected listed media peers (Fairfax Media, Nine 
Entertainment Corporation, Seven West Media, Ten Network 
Holdings, APN News and Media, APN Outdoor Group, oOh! Media 
and Prime Media Group).

 – Short-Term Incentive plan: The STI plan for the senior leadership 

team and other executive participants was restructured in 
2016 to include three components: profi tability and fi nancial 
performance/creative and content performance (40%), high level 
operational improvements (40%) and cultural and behavioural 
infl uences (20%). The Board awarded the CEO 100% of his 
target STI for the year, and the other executive KMP received 
an average of 90% of their target STI, refl ecting the Company’s 
strong fi nancial performance and the positive operational and 
behavioural changes implemented during the year. The PCC 
recommended and the Board has approved changes to the STI 
plan for future years to further align executive reward with creation 
of value for shareholders. These changes will include increasing 
the gateways that must be achieved for payment of the fi nancial 
component of the STI plan and increasing the maximum award for 
outperformance against fi nancial targets. An executive’s maximum 
STI opportunity will increase from 106% of target in 2016 to 
140% of target in 2017. This maximum STI award will only vest 
upon achievement of 105% of target net profi t after tax (“NPAT”). 
 – Long-Term Incentive plan: During the year, there was no vesting of 
entitlements under the LTI plan and only members of the senior 
leadership team received grants under the LTI plan (for potential 
vesting in 2018). After considering the PCC’s recommendations, 
the Board has approved extension of the LTI plan beyond the 
senior leadership team in future years. Inclusion of about 20 
executives in the next tiers of management will ensure that the 
Company’s future leaders are focused on measures that deliver 
long-term returns to shareholders. It is proposed that the LTI plan 
will continue to have a three-year performance period and two 
equally weighted performance hurdles: relative total shareholder 
return (“TSR”) and growth in earnings per share (“EPS”).

32  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

The remuneration of the Company’s non-executive directors was also 
reviewed during the year, aided by an independent benchmarking 
report in relation to the same comparator group prepared by KPMG. 
This review will result in an increase of 6% in base and committee 
fees for non-executive directors for the coming fi nancial year, the 
fi rst time since 2011 that these fees have been adjusted. Fees will 
be increased in subsequent years by 3%, with a benchmarking 
report to be obtained again in three years’ time. The number of 
non-executive directors reduced from eight to seven during the year 
and the aggregate remuneration of non-executive directors in 2017 
is expected to be less than in 2016. 

The Board also introduced a policy in 2016 requiring non-executive 
directors to acquire and maintain a minimum shareholding equal to 
the base fee for a non-executive director by 2019 or within three 
years after their appointment, whichever is later.

Ensuring that the Company’s remuneration framework aligns with the 
Company’s objective of delivering sustainable value for shareholders 
is a key priority for the Board. We look forward to your feedback and 
welcoming you to our 2016 Annual General Meeting.

Yours faithfully,

Leon Pasternak
Chairman of the People & Culture Committee

 – Senior executive share ownership policy: The Board introduced a 

policy in 2016 requiring members of the senior leadership team to 
retain 25% of any shares allocated to them upon vesting of awards 
under the LTI plan, representing about half of the post-tax value of 
any LTI award. 

 – Composition of CEO’s remuneration: The Board has been 

impressed with Grant Blackley’s positive impact in his fi rst 
year as CEO, and supports the organisational and operational 
changes that he has led. The Board wishes to ensure that the 
CEO is appropriately compensated relative to peers and is 
incentivised to further develop and implement the Company’s 
strategic direction and create sustainable value for shareholders. 
The Board has therefore approved an increase of 3% in the 
CEO’s base remuneration and a higher weighting towards at-risk 
incentive remuneration for 2017. The composition of the CEO’s 
remuneration will move to base (40%) / STI (30%) / LTI (30%). 
This means that the CEO’s target STI will represent 75% of base 
remuneration. This will rise to a maximum of 105% of base 
remuneration for full outperformance against stretch fi nancial 
targets. The STI component will be paid partly in cash and partly 
in equity. The CEO’s LTI opportunity will rise to a face value 
of $810,000 in 2017, strongly aligning his incentives with the 
creation of value for shareholders. These changes will result in 
a 46% increase in the CEO’s target remuneration in 2017, with 
96% of the increase allocated to at-risk components and 84% of 
the increase payable in equity. The CEO’s target and maximum 
remuneration will be positioned above the 75th percentile of CEOs 
in the benchmarking comparator group and around the median for 
CEOs of the Company’s listed media peers. 

 – Composition of other executive KMP remuneration: The other 

members of the senior leadership team will receive an increase 
of up to 2.5% in their base remuneration in 2017. In conjunction 
with this, the composition of their remuneration will be made 
consistent and will include a greater emphasis on at-risk 
components, moving over two years to base (50%) / STI (25%) / 
LTI (25%). In earlier years there has been considerable disparity 
in the composition of the remuneration of the senior leadership 
team. In 2016, for example, base remuneration ranged from 
57% to 77% of an executive’s total remuneration package, STI 
opportunities ranged from 12% to 27% and LTI opportunities 
ranged from 12% to 18%. 

 – Other executives: The remuneration of other executives who 

participate in the Company’s incentive plans will also move to a 
consistent composition over future years.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 33

REMUNERATION REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

1.  Remuneration principles
1.1  Overview of executive remuneration
The Company aims to ensure remuneration is competitive and appropriate for the results delivered. Executive reward is aligned with the 
achievement of strategic objectives and the creation of value for shareholders, and is informed by market practice for delivery of reward. 

Executive remuneration packages include a mix of fi xed and variable remuneration. Variable remuneration includes short and long-term 
incentives. More senior roles in the organisation have a greater weighting towards variable remuneration. 

The table below shows the target remuneration mix for executive KMP in 2016. The STI portion is shown at target levels and the LTI portion 
is based on the value granted in 2016.

Grant Blackley
Chief Executive Offi cer and Managing Director
Nick McKechnie
Chief Financial Offi cer
Guy Dobson
Chief Content Offi cer
Rick Lenarcic
Head of Regional Media
Brian Gallagher
Chief Sales Offi cer
Vijay Solanki
Chief Digital Enablement Offi cer
John Kelly1
Chief Operating Offi cer

Fixed 
remuneration

58%

64%

81%

70%

68%

67%

80%

STI

26%

18%

7%

15%

19%

15%

20%

LTI

16%

18%

12%

15%

13%

18%

0%

1  John Kelly commenced employment on 1 February 2016 and was not eligible to participate in the FY16 grant under the LTI plan.

1.2  Fixed remuneration for executive KMP
Fixed remuneration for executives is structured as a total employment package. Executives receive a combination of base pay, superannuation 
and prescribed non-fi nancial benefi ts at the executive’s discretion. The Company contributes superannuation on behalf of executives in 
accordance with the superannuation guarantee legislation. 

Fixed remuneration is reviewed annually to ensure the executive’s pay is competitive and appropriate for the results delivered. There are no 
guaranteed fi xed remuneration increases included in any executive KMP contracts.

1.3  Variable remuneration for executive KMP
The table below outlines details of the Company’s short-term and long-term incentive plans.

What is the incentive?

Short-term incentives
The STI is an annual “at risk” bonus designed to 
reward executives for meeting or exceeding fi nancial 
and non-fi nancial objectives.

How is each executive’s 
entitlement determined?

Each executive is allocated a dollar value (which 
may be a fi xed percentage of the executive’s total 
remuneration) representing the executive’s STI 
opportunity for the year.

Long-term incentives
The LTI plan provides executive KMP with grants 
of performance rights over ordinary shares, for nil 
consideration. Performance rights granted under the LTI 
plan are subject to a three-year performance period. From 
2017, the LTI plan will also be made available to about 20 
executives in the next tiers of management.
Each executive is allocated a dollar value (which may be 
a fi xed percentage of the executive’s total remuneration) 
representing the executive’s maximum LTI opportunity for 
the year. This dollar value is converted into a number of 
performance rights in the LTI plan, based on the fair value 
of performance rights at the applicable grant date.

34  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

How is the 
incentive delivered?

What are the 
performance measures 
and hurdles?

Short-term incentives
STI awards for all executives other than the CEO are 
paid in cash according to the extent of achievement 
of the applicable performance measures. No portion 
of an STI award is subject to deferral.

The CEO’s STI award is payable partly in cash and 
partly in equity. The equity component is 25% of the 
after-tax value of the total STI award.
The Board sets the annual KPIs for the CEO near 
the beginning of each fi nancial year. The KPIs are 
allocated to three categories having regard to the 
Company’s business strategy: profi tability and 
fi nancial performance (40%), high level operational 
improvements (40%) and cultural and behavioural 
infl uences (20%).

The CEO determines the KPIs for the other 
members of the senior leadership team in the 
same three categories and having regard to their 
areas of responsibility. KPIs for the Chief Creative 
Offi cer may allocate up to 40% to creative and 
content performance instead of profi tability and 
fi nancial performance. 

The metrics that applied under the STI plan in 2016 
are summarised below.

Profi tability and fi nancial performance/Creative and 
content performance (40%)
 – Group NPAT compared with budget: Focuses on 
fi nancial results and collaboration for the overall 
benefi t of the Group. This fi nancial metric applies 
for the CEO, CFO and COO.

 – Segment EBITDA compared with budget: Focuses 
on the performance of segments for which they 
have direct responsibility. This metric applies for 
the Head of Regional Media.

 – Sales-related targets: Focuses on achieving 

sustainable fi nancial performance from growing 
top-line revenue. This metric applies for the 
Chief Sales Offi cer.

 – Ratings targets: Revenue and fi nancial 

performance is heavily dependent on ratings of 
both radio and television. This metric applies for 
the Chief Creative Offi cer (for radio).

The Board has discretion to adjust budget targets 
to take into account acquisitions or divestments or 
other signifi cant items where appropriate for linking 
remuneration reward to corporate performance.

Achievements against fi nancial metrics are based on 
the Company’s audited annual fi nancial statements. 
The Board has discretion to make adjustments to 
take into account any signifi cant non-cash items 
(for example impairment losses), acquisitions 
and divestments and one-off events/abnormal/
non-recurring items, where appropriate for linking 
remuneration reward to corporate performance.

Long-term incentives
To the extent that the applicable vesting conditions are 
satisfi ed at the end of the three-year performance period, 
LTI awards are delivered by allocation to participants of 
one fully paid ordinary share for each performance right 
that vests. The Board has discretion to settle vested 
awards in cash.

From 2016, each grant under the LTI plan has two 
equally weighted performance hurdles over a three-year 
performance period.

Relative TSR Performance hurdle (50%)
TSR provides a comparison of relative shareholder returns 
that is relevant to most of the Company’s investors.

The Relative TSR Performance hurdle takes into account 
share price appreciation plus reinvested dividends, 
expressed as a percentage of investment and adjusted 
for changes in the Company’s capital structure. 

Performance rights will vest if the Company’s TSR 
over the performance period is at or above the 51st 
percentile against the constituents of the ASX Consumer 
Discretionary Index at each grant date, excluding 
News Corporation. 

The comparator group represents a range of alternative 
companies that shareholders could invest in while 
maintaining portfolio sector balance. News Corporation 
has been excluded from each comparative group given 
the extent of its international business operations.

TSR Performance
Below 51st percentile
51st percentile

51st to 75th percentile
At or above 75th percentile

% of allocation that vests
Nil
50%
Straight-line vesting 
between 50% and 100%
100%

There is no re-testing of performance hurdles under the 
LTI plan.

Absolute EPS Performance hurdle (50%)
Performance rights will vest if the Company’s adjusted 
EPS performance over the performance period is at or 
above a 3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). 
Adjusted EPS excludes the impact of signifi cant or non-
recurring items (both income and costs) and so provides 
a fair measure of underlying long-term performance. 

Adjusted EPS is calculated by dividing the adjusted profi t 
after tax attributable to shareholders for the relevant 
reporting period (reported profi t after tax, adjusted for the 
after-tax effect of signifi cant or non-recurring items) by 
the weighted average number of ordinary shares on issue 
in the Company over the relevant reporting period.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 35

REMUNERATION REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

What are the 
performance measures 
and hurdles?
(continued)

Is there a gateway?

What is the maximum 
amount payable?

Short-term incentives
High level operational performance (40%)
 – Strategy: Focuses on strategic initiatives (such 
as network strategy, material contracts and 
diversifi cation of revenue streams) that deliver 
growth, improved business performance and 
shareholder value.

 – Operational improvements: Focuses on effective 
management of business support functions and 
infrastructure to sustain and improve long-term 
earnings performance.

Cultural and behavioural infl uences (20%)
 – People: Focuses on effective leadership and 

development and retention of talent to sustain and 
improve long-term earnings performance.

 – External relationships: Focuses on development 

and maintenance of constructive relationships with 
key stakeholders to sustain and improve long-term 
earnings performance.

At least 90% of fi nancial metrics relating to NPAT or 
EBITDA must be achieved before any fi nancial STI is 
payable. (This gateway will increase to 95% in 2017.)

At least 94% of fi nancial metrics for sales or costs 
must be achieved before any fi nancial STI is payable. 
(This gateway will increase to 97.5% in 2017.) 
Where the budget for a fi nancial year is less than the 
previous year’s actual result, the applicable fi nancial 
metric will be the previous year’s actual result.

There is no gateway for non-fi nancial measures.

Individual performance must be at a “meets 
expectations” level before any STI is payable.
The maximum award for non-fi nancial measures 
under the STI plan is 100% of an executive’s STI 
opportunity for those measures.

The maximum award for fi nancial measures under the 
STI plan is 100% of an executive’s STI opportunity 
for that measure. In addition, an executive can earn 
up to 115% of the fi nancial component (40%) of the 
executive’s STI if the Group achieves up to 120% of 
the relevant fi nancial target. An executive’s maximum 
STI opportunity is therefore 106% of target. 

Long-term incentives

Absolute EPS Performance % of allocation that vests
Below 3% CAGR
3% CAGR

Nil
50%
Straight-line vesting between 
50% and 100%
100%

3% – 8% CAGR
At or above 8% CAGR

Grants made under the LTI plans in operation before 2015 
included both executive KMP and other senior executives, 
had performance periods of three or four years, and will 
vest based on satisfaction of TSR performance criteria 
only. Performance rights granted under these plans will 
reach their vesting dates over the next two years.

The Relative TSR Performance hurdle will be achieved 
only if the Company’s relative TSR over the performance 
period is at or above the 51st percentile of the comparator 
group.

The Absolute EPS Performance hurdle will be achieved 
only if the Company’s EPS performance over the 
performance period is at or above 3% CAGR.

The maximum award under the LTI plan is 100% of an 
executive’s grant if all vesting conditions are fully satisfi ed 
over the performance period.

% of budgeted 
NPAT/EBITDA
<90%

90% to 100%

100% to 120%

% of budgeted Sales
<94%

94% to 100%

100% to 120%

% of fi nancial 
STI payable
0%
Straight-line between 50% 
and 100%
Straight-line between 100% 
and 115%

% of fi nancial 
STI payable
0%
Straight-line between 50% 
and 100%
Straight-line between 100% 
and 115%

36  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Short-term incentives

Long-term incentives

What is the maximum 
amount payable?
(continued)

How is performance 
assessed?

The maximum award for fi nancial measures under the 
STI plan will be increased to 200% in 2017 if the 
Group achieves up to 105% of its NPAT target. An 
executive’s maximum STI opportunity will therefore 
be 140% of target. Having regard to assumptions 
underlying the budget, the Board considers that 
achieving 105% of the Group’s NPAT target would 
represent signifi cant outperformance. Any STI award 
for such outperformance must be self-funding. This 
means that the outperformance must be achieved 
after providing for the incremental cost of any STI 
award.

NPAT/EBITDA
<95%

Sales
<97.5%

95% to 100%

97.5% to 100%

100% to 105% 
NPAT
>105%

n/a
n/a

% of fi nancial 
STI payable
0%
Straight-line 
between 50% 
and 100%
Progressive scale 
between 100% 
and 200%
200%

CEO: At the end of each fi nancial year, with the 
assistance of the Committee, the Board assesses 
the actual performance of the Company and the CEO 
against the applicable KPIs and determines the STI 
amount payable to the CEO.

Other executive KMP: At the end of the fi nancial 
year the CEO assesses the actual performance of the 
Group and the executive KMPs against the applicable 
KPIs and determines the STI amount payable to each 
executive. The CEO provides these assessments to 
the Committee for review. 

The Group engages Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (“Deloitte”) 
to report on the Company’s TSR ranking within the 
comparator group as defi ned in each of the LTI plans 
at each vesting date. The Company may engage an 
independent consultant to report on the Company’s 
Absolute EPS performance over the vesting period 
for each LTI grant, which will fi rst be required as at 
30 June 2018.

Cessation of employment “Bad Leavers” (who resign or are terminated for 

cause) will forfeit their STI entitlement, unless 
otherwise determined by the Board or the CEO as 
appropriate.

The STI payments of executives who cease 
employment for other reasons are pro-rated for time 
and performance, unless otherwise determined by 
the Board.

Change of control

In the event of a change of control before the STI 
payment date, the STI payment is pro-rated for time 
and performance, subject to Board discretion.

Clawback

The Board may reconsider the level of satisfaction of 
a performance measure and take steps to reduce the 
benefi t of an STI award to the extent its vesting was 
affected by fraud, dishonesty, breach of obligation or 
other action likely to result in long-term detriment to 
the Company.

“Bad Leavers” (who resign or are terminated for cause) 
will forfeit any unvested performance rights, unless 
otherwise determined by the Board.

For executives who cease employment for other 
reasons, the Board has discretion to vest any unvested 
performance rights on a pro-rata basis taking into account 
time and the current level of performance against the 
performance hurdle, or to hold the LTI award to be tested 
against performance hurdles at the end of the original 
vesting period. 
In the event of a change of control before vesting of an 
LTI award, the Board has discretion as to how to treat the 
unvested award, including to determine that the award will 
vest or lapse in whole or in part, or that it will continue 
subject to the same or different conditions.
The Board may reconsider the level of satisfaction of a 
performance hurdle and take steps to reduce the benefi t 
of an LTI award to the extent its vesting was affected by 
fraud, dishonesty, breach of obligation or other action 
likely to result in long-term detriment to the Company.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 37

REMUNERATION REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Other features

Short-term incentives

Long-term incentives

Discretionary elements: The Board (for KMP) and 
the CEO (for other executives) have discretion to 
grant additional bonuses for special projects or 
achievements that are not contemplated in the normal 
course of business or that have a particular strategic 
impact for the Company, such as acquisitions and 
divestments, refi nancing, or major capex projects.

Minimum employment period: Participants must 
be employed for at least three months in the 
performance period to be entitled to receive any 
STI payment.

Treatment of dividends: There are no dividends payable 
to participants on unvested performance rights. Once 
performance rights have vested to fully paid ordinary 
shares, the participant will be entitled to dividends on 
these shares.

Sourcing of shares: The Board has discretion to purchase 
shares on-market or to issue new shares in respect of 
vested performance rights.

1.4  Retention bonuses for certain senior executives
The Board determined in May 2015 that Nick McKechnie (CFO) and Guy Dobson (Chief Creative Offi cer) would be provided with a retention 
bonus opportunity to remain with the Company during the transitional period of leadership by the Executive Chairman in May 2015. 

The retention bonus for Nick McKechnie was $120,000 and was subject to his continuing employment to 30 June 2016. The bonus was 
constituted by the grant of 117,878 performance rights in accordance with the LTI plan, each with a fair value taken to be equal to the VWAP 
of the Company’s shares ($1.0180) for the fi ve days commencing on 11 May 2015. Nick McKechnie remains in employment with the Company 
and accordingly these performance rights will vest and be converted to 117,878 fully paid ordinary shares on or around 26 August 2016 
following release of the Company’s annual results.

The retention bonus for Guy Dobson was $100,000 and was subject to his continuing employment to 30 June 2016 and certain other 
performance targets relating to radio ratings. Guy Dobson remains in employment with the Company; however, the applicable performance 
targets were not achieved and, accordingly, this retention bonus will not be payable. 

1.5  Consequences of performance on shareholder value
In considering the Group’s performance and the benefi ts for shareholder value, the Board has regard to the following indicators in the current 
fi nancial year and the preceding four fi nancial years. 

30 June 2016 30 June 2015 30 June 2014 30 June 2013 30 June 2012

$’000

$’000

$’000

$’000

$’000

Revenue
EBITDA
EBITDA %
Net profi t before tax 
Net profi t after tax (“NPAT”)
NPAT %
Net profi t after tax excluding signifi cant items
NPAT % excluding signifi cant items

Opening share price
Closing share price
Dividend/Distribution

642,289
167,722
26.1%
114,177
77,243
12.0%
77,243
12.0%

687,313
225,780
32.8%
126,282
95,022
13.8%
95,022
13.8%
30 June 2016 30 June 2015 30 June 2014 30 June 2013 30 June 2012

640,834
179,705
28.0%
(279,577)
(296,008)
(46.2%)
79,629
12.4%

611,120
163,262
26.7%
(265,216)
(284,950)
(46.6%)
64,783
10.6%

653,114
210,991
32.3%
133,269
96,111
14.7%
96,111
14.7%

$0.97
$1.25
6.25c

$1.07
$0.97
6.0c

$1.43
$1.07
7.5c

$1.20
$1.43
9.0c

$1.55
$1.20
10.0c

1.6  Executive service contracts
The Company has entered into service contracts setting out the terms of employment of each executive KMP. All service contracts are for an 
indefi nite term, subject to termination by either party on six months’ notice (12 weeks’ notice in the case of Rick Lenarcic). In recognition that 
Vijay Solanki had relocated from overseas to join the Company, his service contract included provision for termination on 12 months’ notice. 
Each executive service contract provides for the payment of base salary and participation in the Company’s STI and LTI plans, along with other 
prescribed non-monetary benefi ts.

38  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

1.7  Services from remuneration consultants
The Committee engaged KPMG to provide an independent report benchmarking the remuneration of the Company’s executive KMP and its 
non-executive directors. KPMG met with management to obtain relevant information, but KPMG provided its report directly to the Committee. 
KPMG was paid $28,000 for these services. Neither KPMG nor any other external adviser provided any remuneration recommendation to the 
Company during the year. 

Deloitte was engaged during the year to assess the performance of the Company’s LTI plans as at each vesting date and, for this purpose, 
to determine the Group’s TSR ranking within the comparator group and EPS growth over the applicable performance periods. Deloitte was 
also engaged to determine the fair value of performance rights granted under the LTI plan during the year. Deloitte was paid $21,000 for 
these services.

1.8  Remuneration of non-executive directors
The Company enters into a letter of appointment with each non-executive director. The letter sets out the Board’s expectations for non-
executive directors and the remuneration payable to non-executive directors. 

The maximum annual aggregate fee pool for non-executive directors is $1,500,000. This was approved by shareholders at the 2011 Annual 
General Meeting. 

The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman receive a fi xed aggregate fee. Other non-executive directors receive a base fee for acting as a director 
and additional fees for participation as chair or as a member of the Board’s committees. Non-executive directors do not receive performance-
based fees and are not entitled to retirement benefi ts as part of their fees.

Following consideration of the benchmarking report prepared by KPMG, the Board’s base and committee fees will be increased by 6% in 2017, 
the fi rst time since 2011 that these fees have been adjusted. Fees will be increased in subsequent years by 3%, with a benchmarking report 
to be obtained again in three years’ time. The number of non-executive directors reduced from eight to seven during the year and the aggregate 
remuneration of non-executive directors in 2017 will be less than in 2016.

The table below sets out the fees for non-executive directors that applied in 2015 and 2016 and those that will apply in 2017.

Base fees – Annual
Chairman1
Deputy Chairman1
Other Non-Executive Directors
Committee fees – Annual
Audit & Risk Committee – Chairman
Audit & Risk Committee – member
People & Culture Committee2 – Chairman1
People & Culture Committee2 – member
Nomination Committee – Chairman1
Nomination Committee – member

2015

$

2016

$

2017

$

250,000
161,500
125,000

250,000
161,500
125,000

265,000
171,000
132,000

21,000
14,000
15,000
10,000
15,000
10,000

21,000
14,000
15,000
10,000
15,000
10,000

22,500
15,000
16,000
10,500
16,000
10,500

1   The Chairman and Deputy Chairman do not receive any additional fees for committee work. Accordingly, the fees set out above for Chair of the Nomination Committee 

and the People & Culture Committee respectively were not paid during 2015 or 2016.

2   During the year the Remuneration Committee was renamed as the People & Culture Committee. 

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 39

REMUNERATION REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

2.  Remuneration of executive KMP and directors during the year
2.1  Executive KMP
The table below sets out the nature and amount of each major element of the remuneration of each executive KMP in 2016 and 2015. 

Other 
long-
term2

Termination 
benefi ts

Share-based 
payments

Total

Perfor-
mance-
related 
propor-
tion

Short-term employee benefi ts

Salary 
and 
fees
$

STI 
cash
 bonus3
$

Non-
monetary
$

Total
$

Post-
employ-
ment

Super 
con-
tribution
$

Executive1

Year

$

$

Grant Blackley 

2016

1,098,501

500,000

3,866

1,602,367

19,308

5,011

Chief Executive 
Offi cer and 
Managing Director 2015

8,750

–

–

8,750

831

–

Nick McKechnie

2016

500,000

150,000

2,807

652,807

19,308

(12,743)

Chief Financial 
Offi cer

John Kelly

Chief Operating 
Offi cer

Brian Gallagher 

2015

2016

2015

2016

407,197

214,872

17,500

58,330

2,461

427,158

844

274,046

17,146

9,654

2,345

14,127

–

–

–

–

–

–

481,884

150,000

3,669

635,553

19,308

15,060

Chief Sales Offi cer 2015

–

–

–

–

–

–

Guy Dobson 

2016

633,530

59,580

5,146

698,256

19,308

38,282

14,000

96,700

68,003

24,000

5,872

653,402

25,178

481,423

12,829

290,832

5,146

380,646

18,873

19,308

14,088

23,876

11,632

48,952

25,538

(3,752)

294,531

Perform-
ance 
rights4
$

$

%

100,000

1,726,686

34.7

–

9,581

–

220,0006

879,372

42.1

50,000

–

–

496,649

297,827

13.6

19.6

–

–

33,333

703,254

26.1

–

–

–

98,608

854,454

18.5

98,605

86,109

76,801

33,333

782,512

635,792

14.4

28.8

407,259

35.6

728,634

3.5

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

633,530

359,545

210,000

351,500

50,214

–

51,136

–

Chief Content 
Offi cer

Rick Lenarcic 

Head of Regional 
Media

Vijay Solanki5 

Chief Digital 
Enablement 
Offi cer

Peter Bush

Former Executive 
Chairman

Rhys Holleran

Former Chief 
Executive Offi cer

Andrea Ingham

Former National 
Sales Director

Craig Bruce

Former Head of 
Content

Clive Dickens

Former Director 
of Digital and 
Innovation

Peter Lewis

Former Chief 
Financial Offi cer

Total executive 
KMP

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

2016

2015

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

50,214

4,696

3,752

–

51,136

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

58,662

–

51,136

–

975,000

70,000

33,536

1,078,536

25,000 (1,088,498)

1,990,034

116,667

2,121,739

–

–

–

–

–

–

401,500

10,000

5,872

417,372

18,873

3,420

–

130,882

–

202,192

–

94,573

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

130,882

4,696

(11,728)

–

–

–

3,652

205,844

16,761

7,113

–

–

–

–

94,573

4,641

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

123,850

–

229,718

–

99,214

3,639,832

1,038,610

46,656

4,725,098

130,070

104,937

294,531

571,383

5,826,019

3,164,974

179,503

64,222 3,408,699

125,605 (1,046,426)

1,990,034

430,957

4,908,869

88,884

528,549

18.7

–

–

–

–

8.8

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

27.6

12.4

1   A number of executive KMP did not hold their roles for the full fi nancial year. Remuneration is only disclosed for the time they were KMP in each year. Grant Blackley 

commenced on 29 June 2015. John Kelly commenced on 1 February 2016. Brian Gallagher commenced on 15 July 2015. Vijay Solanki commenced on 11 May 2015 
and resigned with effect from 30 June 2016.

2   Amounts represent movements in employee leave entitlements, with a negative balance representing an overall reduction in the employee leave provision balance 

compared with prior year.

40  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

3  The STI bonus is for performance during the year using the criteria set out on page 35. The amount was fi nally determined by the Board on 24 August 2016 after 

considering recommendations of the People & Culture Committee. 

4  The fair value of the performance rights granted during the year was determined by the Company’s independent consultant, Deloitte. In accordance with the applicable 
accounting standards, AASB 2 “Share-based Payment” and AASB 124 “Related Party Disclosures”, Deloitte used a Monte Carlo simulation model for the Relative 
TSR performance rights and a Black-Scholes-Merton model for the Absolute EPS performance rights. The value disclosed is the portion of the fair value of the rights 
recognised as an expense in each reporting period.

5  Vijay Solanki resigned with effect from 30 June 2016. His former position of Chief Digital Enablement Offi cer has not been replaced.
6  The retention bonus for Nick McKechnie was $120,000 and was subject to his continuing employment to 30 June 2016. The bonus was constituted by the grant of 

117,878 performance rights in accordance with the LTI plan.

2.2  Non-executive directors
The table below sets out the nature and amount of each major element of the remuneration of each non-executive director in 2016 and 2015. 

Non-executive director1

Peter Bush 
Chairman
Leon Pasternak
Deputy Chairman
Glen Boreham
Non-executive director
Chris de Boer 
Non-executive director
Kathy Gramp 
Non-executive director
Peter Harvie 
Non-executive director
Rob Murray 
Non-executive director
Helen Nash 
Non-executive director
Melanie Willis 
Non-executive director
Max Moore-Wilton
Former non-executive director
Michael Carapiet
Former non-executive director

TOTAL

Short-term employee benefi ts

Salary 
and fees
$

Non-
monetary
$

230,692
76,830
147,488
147,488
126,027
102,740
130,592
142,464
136,072
108,066
123,288
126,484
133,333
108,066
126,940
31,735
13,187
–
–
153,660
–
31,250
1,167,619
1,028,783

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Year

2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015
2016
2015

Total
$

230,692
76,830
147,488
147,488
126,027
102,740
130,592
142,464
136,072
108,066
123,288
126,484
133,333
108,066
126,940
31,735
13,187
–
–
153,660
–
31,250
1,167,619
1,028,783

Post-
employment

Super 
contribution
$

19,308
6,503
14,012
14,012
11,973
9,760
12,408
13,536
12,928
10,267
11,712
12,016
12,667
10,267
12,060
3,015
1,253
–
–
13,007
–
–
108,321
92,383

Total

$

250,000
83,333
161,500
161,500
138,000
112,500
143,000
156,000
149,000
118,333
135,000
138,500
146,000
118,333
139,000
34,750
14,440
–
–
166,667
–
31,250
1,275,940
1,121,166

1   A number of non-executive directors did not hold their roles for the full fi nancial year in 2015 or 2016. Remuneration is only disclosed for the time they were non-
executive directors in each year. Peter Bush was appointed on 25 February 2015. Glen Boreham was appointed on 1 September 2014. Chris de Boer resigned on 
26 May 2016. Kathy Gramp was appointed on 1 September 2014 and resigned on 21 June 2016. Rob Murray was appointed on 1 September 2014. Helen Nash was 
appointed on 23 April 2015. Melanie Willis was appointed on 26 May 2016.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 41

REMUNERATION REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

3.  Analysis of short-term incentives included in remuneration
The table below sets out details of the vesting of short term incentive bonus payments awarded as remuneration to executive KMP for the year. 

KMP

Grant Blackley
Nick McKechnie
John Kelly3
Brian Gallagher
Guy Dobson
Rick Lenarcic
Vijay Solanki

Short-term incentive bonus

% vested in year

Included in
 remuneration1
$

Profi tability
 and 
fi nancial
 performance5

High level
 operational
 improvements

Cultural 
and 
behavioural
 infl uences

% forfeited 
in year2

500,000
150,000
58,330
150,000
59,580
96,700
24,000

40%
40%
40%
40%
–4
40%
10%

40%
40%
40%
40%
40%
40%
13%

20%
20%
20%
20%
20%
16.7%
8%

–
–
–
–
40%
3.3%
69%

1   Amounts included in remuneration for the year represent the amounts related to the year based on achievement of corporate and personal goals for each executive. 

These amounts were approved by the Board on 24 August 2016.

2   The amounts forfeited are due to corporate and personal goals not being achieved in the year.
3  John Kelly’s bonus was pro-rated for his employment of fi ve months during the year.
4  The fi rst performance measure was based on Creative and Content performance for Guy Dobson.
5  Although budget targets were achieved, the Board did not award any of the stretch opportunity of up to 115% available for the profi tability and fi nancial performance 

component of the STI plan.

4.  Share-based incentive payments
All references to rights in this section are to performance rights over fully paid ordinary shares in the Company issued under the Company’s 
LTI plan. Rights are convertible into fully paid ordinary shares in the Company on a one-for-one basis upon vesting in accordance with the 
Company’s LTI plan. There are no options on issue under the Company’s LTI plan.

4.1  Rights granted as remuneration during the year
The tables below set out details of the rights over shares granted as remuneration to each KMP under the Company’s LTI plan during the year. 

KMP

Grant Blackley 
Nick McKechnie
John Kelly1
Brian Gallagher
Guy Dobson
Rick Lenarcic
Vijay Solanki

Number of 
rights granted

491,803
245,902
–
163,934
163,934
163,934
163,934

1  John Kelly commenced as Chief Operating Offi cer on 1 February 2016 and was not eligible for a grant of rights in the 2016 plan.

Details for all rights granted in fi nancial year

Grant Date
Fair value at grant date
Vesting date

Relative TSR

2 September 2015
$0.45
30 June 2018

Absolute EPS

2 September 2015
$0.77
30 June 2018

All rights expire on the earlier of their vesting date or termination of the executive’s employment on a pro-rata basis. The rights vest at the 
end of the third fi nancial year after their grant. This is 30 June 2018 for all rights granted in the year. In addition to a continuing employment 
condition, vesting is conditional on the Group achieving specifi ed performance hurdles. Details of the performance hurdles are included in 
the discussion of the LTI plan on page 35. The fair value of rights issued during the year was determined by the Company’s independent 
consultant, Deloitte, using a Monte Carlo simulation model for the Relative TSR performance rights and a Black-Scholes-Merton model for the 
Absolute EPS performance rights.

42  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

4.2 Details of equity incentives affecting current and future remuneration
The table below sets out the vesting profi les of rights held by each KMP as at 30 June 2016 and details of rights that vested during the year. 
At the end of the year, there were no rights that had vested and which had not been exercised by conversion to fully paid ordinary shares.

Name

Grant Blackley

Grant 
Date

Vesting 
Date

FY16 Plan 01/07/2018
Total

Nick McKechnie1 9 May 15

26/08/2016
FY16 Plan 01/07/2018
FY15 Plan 01/07/2017
Total
Brian Gallagher FY16 Plan 01/07/2018
Total
FY16 Plan 01/07/2018
FY15 Plan 01/07/2017
FY14 Plan 01/07/2015
01/07/2016
01/07/2017
FY13 Plan 01/07/2015
01/07/2016

Guy Dobson

Rick Lenarcic

Vijay Solanki2

Total
FY16 Plan 01/07/2018
FY15 Plan 01/07/2017
FY14 Plan 01/07/2015
01/07/2016
01/07/2017
FY13 Plan 01/07/2015
01/07/2016

Total
FY16 Plan 01/07/2018
Total

No. of Perf 
Rights 
Granted

Value 
of Perf 
Rights at
 Grant 
Date3
$

No. of Perf
 Rights
 Vested and
 Exercised
 During the
 Year

Vested 
and
 Exercised
%

No. of Perf
 Rights
 Forfeited
 During the
 Year4

No. of Perf 
Rights 
Remaining
 at Year End

Value of 
Perf Rights
 yet to 
Vest
$

Forfeited
 %4

491,803
491,803
117,878
245,902
192,704
556,484
163,934
163,934
163,934
128,469
32,676
32,359
32,359
94,330
92,583
576,710
163,934
128,469
22,874
22,651
22,651
44,021
43,206
447,806
163,934
163,934

300,000
300,000
120,000
150,000
150,000
420,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
33,330
33,330
33,330
49,995
49,995
399,980
100,000
100,000
23,333
23,333
23,333
23,333
23,333
316,665
100,000
100,000

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
0.0%
–
–
0.0%
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
32,676
–
–
94,330
–
0.0% 127,006
–
–
22,874
–
–
44,021
–
66,895
109,290
109,290

–
–
0.0%
–
–
0.0%
–
0.0%
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
100.0%
–
–
100.0%
–

491,803
491,803
117,878
245,902
192,704
556,484
163,934
163,934
163,934
128,469
–
32,359
32,359
–
92,583
100.0% 449,704
163,934
128,469
–
22,651
22,651
–
43,206
100.0% 380,911
54,644
54,644

–
–
100.0%
–
–
100.0%
–

66.7%
66.7%

300,000
300,000
120,000
150,000
150,000
420,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
–
33,330
33,330
–
49,995
316,655
100,000
100,000
–
23,333
23,333
–
23,333
269,999
33,333
33,333

1  Nick McKechnie was granted 117,878 rights as a retention bonus, subject to his continuing employment to 30 June 2016. As described on page 38, these rights will 

vest on 26 August 2016. 

2  Vijay Solanki resigned with effect from 30 June 2016. Two-thirds of the rights granted to him in 2016 were forfeited. The balance of his rights remain eligible for vesting 

at the end of the 2016 plan.

3  The value of rights granted is the fair value of rights calculated at the grant date. The total value of rights granted in the table is allocated to remuneration over the 

vesting period.

4  The number and percentage of rights forfeited during the year is the reduction from the maximum number of rights available to vest due to the performance criteria not 

being satisfi ed, together with the rights forfeited by Vijay Solanki on his resignation with effect from 30 June 2016. 

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 43

REMUNERATION REPORT

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

The only vesting condition for each grant of rights with a vesting date of 1 July 2015 was the Company’s relative TSR performance against 
companies in the comparator group over the vesting period. As indicated in the table above, the vesting condition for each of these grants 
was not achieved. A summary of the Company’s relative TSR performance over the vesting period for each of these grants, as provided by 
the Company’s independent consultant, Deloitte, is provided below. 

Grant 

FY2012 – Tranche 4
FY2013 – Tranche 3
FY2014 – Tranche 2

Percentile 
ranking

% vested

38.0
30.0
17.0

0%
0%
0%

The only vesting condition for each grant of rights with a vesting date of 1 July 2016 was the Company’s relative TSR performance against 
companies in the comparator group over the vesting period. The Company has also received a report from Deloitte relating to the vesting 
condition for each of these grants. A summary of the Company’s relative TSR performance over the vesting period for each of these grants 
is provided below. The grants that have vested will be included in the remuneration of participating executives in 2017. 

Grant 

FY2013 – Tranche 4
FY2014 – Tranche 3

Percentile
 ranking

17.0
27.0

% vested

0%
0%

5.  Payments to executives before taking offi ce
There were no payments made during the year to any person as part of the consideration for the person taking offi ce. 

6.  Transactions with KMP
6.1  Loans to KMP
There were no loans made to KMP or their related parties during the year. 

6.2  Other transactions and balances with KMP
There were no other transactions with KMP or their related parties during the year. 

7.  KMP shareholdings
The table below sets out the movements in shares held directly or indirectly by KMP during the year.

Received
 during the 
year on
 exercise of
 performance
 rights

Other changes
 during the
 year

Balance at 
end of year

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
50,000
52,573
–
102,573

–
1,185,215
95,000
20,000
50,000
52,573
–
1,402,788

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
26,760
–
–
–
–
–
26,760

Balance at 
start of year

–
1,185,215
95,000
20,000
–
–
–
1,300,215

–
26,760
–
–
–
–
–
26,760

Non-executive directors
Peter Bush
Leon Pasternak
Glen Boreham
Peter Harvie
Rob Murray
Helen Nash
Melanie Willis

Executives
Grant Blackley
Nick McKechnie
John Kelly
Brian Gallagher
Guy Dobson
Rick Lenarcic
Vijay Solanki

44  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

 
A copy of the Auditor’s Independence Declaration, as required under s307C of the Corporations Act 2001, is set out on page 46.

This report is signed in accordance with resolutions of the Directors of Southern Cross Media Group Limited.

Peter Bush 
Chairman 
Southern Cross Media Group Limited 
Sydney, Australia 
25 August 2016 

Leon Pasternak
Deputy Chairman
Southern Cross Media Group Limited
Sydney, Australia
25 August 2016

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 45

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  AUDITOR’S INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION

Auditor’s Independence Declaration

  Auditor’s Independence Declaration
 As lead auditor for the audit of Southern Cross Media Group Limited for the year ended 30 June 2016, 
I declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief, there have been:
As lead auditor for the audit of Southern Cross Media Group Limited for the year ended 30 June 2015, 
I declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief, there have been:

1.  no contraventions of the auditor independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 in relation 

to the audit; and
a) no contraventions of the auditor independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 in 

2.   no contraventions of any applicable code of professional conduct in relation to the audit .

relation to the audit; and

This declaration is in respect of Southern Cross Media Group Limited and the entities it controlled 
during the period .

b) no contraventions of any applicable code of professional conduct in relation to the audit.

This declaration is in respect of Southern Cross Media Group Limited and the entities it controlled 
during the period. 

 Sam Lobley 
 Partner 
 PricewaterhouseCoopers 

Sam Lobley 
Partner
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Melbourne
25 August 2016 

Melbourne
26 August 2015

PricewaterhouseCoopers, ABN 52 780 433 757 
Freshwater Place, 2 Southbank Boulevard, SOUTHBANK  VIC  3006, GPO Box 1331, MELBOURNE  VIC  3001
T: 61 3 8603 1000, F: 61 3 8603 1999, www.pwc.com.au  

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

46  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Revenue from continuing operations
Broadcast and production costs
Employee expenses
Selling costs
Occupancy costs
Promotions and marketing
Administration costs
Share of net profi t/(losses) of investments accounted for using the equity method
Profi t before depreciation, amortisation, interest, impairment, fair value movements on 
fi nancial derivatives and income tax expenses for the year from continuing operations
Depreciation and amortisation expense
Impairment of intangibles and investments
Interest expense and other borrowing costs
Interest revenue
Profi t/(Loss) before income tax expense for the year from continuing operations
Income tax expense from continuing operations
Profi t/(Loss) from continuing operations after income tax expense for the year 
Other comprehensive income that may be reclassifi ed to profi t or loss:
Changes to fair value of cash fl ow hedges, net of tax
Total comprehensive profi t/(loss) for the year attributable to shareholders 

Note

3

17

7,8
15

5

Consolidated

2016
$’000

642,289
(111,627)
(184,336)
(79,908)
(30,966)
(19,004)
(49,012)
286

167,722
(28,850)
–
(26,029)
1,334
114,177
(36,934)
77,243

2015
$’000

611,120
(107,756)
(169,313)
(69,313)
(30,684)
(19,009)
(51,962)
179

163,262
(28,534)
(361,414)
(40,216)
1,686
(265,216)
(19,734)
(284,950)

(1,080)
76,163

4,284
(280,666)

Earnings per share attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company:
Basic earnings per share (cents)
Diluted earnings per share (cents)

13
13

10.12
10.10

(39.27)
(39.27)

The above Statement of Comprehensive Income should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 47

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AS AT 30 JUNE 2016

Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Receivables
Total current assets
Non-current assets
Receivables
Investments accounted for using the equity method
Property, plant and equipment
Intangible assets
Deferred tax assets
Total non-current assets
Total assets
Current liabilities
Payables
Deferred Income
Provisions
Borrowings
Current tax liabilities
Total current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Deferred Income
Provisions
Borrowings
Derivative fi nancial instruments
Total non-current liabilities
Total liabilities
Net assets
Equity
Contributed equity
Reserves
Other equity transaction
Accumulated losses
Equity attributable to equity holders 
Non-controlling interest
Total equity

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

Note

10

10
17
6
7
5

10
10
10
15

10
10
15
16

14

14

94,776
142,003
236,779

143,051
122,038
265,089

2,677
3,657
145,249
1,289,509
9,922
1,451,014
1,687,793

4,550
3,059
163,841
1,289,440
12,336
1,473,226
1,738,315

86,388
12,590
19,347
35,957
9,109
163,391

95,278
11,839
433,864
3,273
544,254
707,645
980,148

80,924
7,768
20,976
21,261
7,128
138,057

–
13,790
647,964
1,732
663,486
801,543
936,772

1,379,386
2,462
(77,406)
(324,592)
979,850
298
980,148

1,365,110
3,014
(77,406)
(354,244)
936,474
298
936,772

The above Statement of Financial Position should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

48  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Contributed
 equity
$’000

Share-based
 payment
 reserve
$’000

Hedge 
reserve
$’000

Other equity
 transactions
$’000

(Accumulated
 losses)
/retained 
profi ts
$’000

Non-
controlling
 interest
$’000

Total
$’000

Total equity
$’000

1,365,110
–

4,226
–

(1,212)
–

(77,406)
–

(354,244)
77,243

936,474
77,243 

298
–

936,772
77,243 

–

–

–

14,276
–
14,276

–

–

(1,080)

(1,080)

528

–
–
528

–

–
–
–

–

–

–

–
–
–

–

(1,080)

77,243

76,163

–

528

–
(47,591)
(47,591)

14,276
(47,591)
(32,787)

–

–

–

–
–
–

(1,080)

76,163 

528

14,276
(47,591)
(32,787)

1,379,386

4,754

(2,292)

(77,406)

(324,592)

979,850

298

980,148

Contributed
 equity
$’000

Share-based
 payment
 reserve
$’000

Hedge 
reserve
$’000

Other equity
 transactions
$’000

(Accumulated
 losses)
/retained 
profi ts
$’000

Non-
controlling
 interest
$’000

Total
$’000

Total equity
$’000

1,686,878 
–

3,503
–

 (5,496)
–

 (77,406)
–

 (394,167)
(284,950)

1,213,312 
(284,950) 

298 
–

1,213,610 
(284,950) 

–

–

–

46,232

(368,000)
–
(321,768)

–

–

4,284

4,284

723

–

–
–
723

–

–

–
–
–

–

–

–

–

–
–
–

–

4,284

(284,950)

(280,666)

–

–

723

46,232

368,000
(43,127)
324,873

–
(43,127)
3,828

–

–

–

–

–
–
–

4,284

(280,666) 

723

46,232

–
(43,127)
3,828

1,365,110

4,226

(1,212)

(77,406)

(354,244)

936,474

298

936,772

2016

Total equity at 
1 July 2015
Profi t for the year 
Other 
comprehensive 
income
Total 
comprehensive 
income

Transactions with 
equity holders in 
their capacity as 
equity holders:
Employee share 
entitlements
Shares issued, net 
of transaction costs
Dividends paid

Total equity at 
30 June 2016

2015

Total equity at 
1 July 2014 
Profi t for the year 
Other 
comprehensive 
income
Total 
comprehensive 
income

Transactions with 
equity holders in 
their capacity as 
equity holders:
Employee share 
entitlements
Shares issued, net 
of transaction costs
Capital reduction 
per Corporations 
Act Section 258F
Dividends paid

Total equity at 
30 June 2015

The above Statement of Changes in Equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 49

 
 
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Cash fl ows from operating activities
Receipts from customers 
Payments to suppliers and employees 
Interest received from external parties
Tax paid
Net cash infl ows from operating activities
Cash fl ows from investing activities
Payments for purchase of property, plant and equipment
Payments for purchase of intangibles
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment
Net cash fl ows used in investing activities
Cash fl ows from fi nancing activities
Dividends paid to security holders
Proceeds from DRP underwrite
Net proceeds from receivables fi nancing
Repayment of borrowings from external parties
Interest paid to external parties
Payments for fi nance leases
Net cash fl ows used in fi nancing activities
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash assets at the beginning of the year
Cash assets at the end of the year

The above Statement of Cash Flows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Note

9

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

793,755
(538,508)
1,334
(32,843)
223,738

(23,262)
(69)
16,141
(7,190)

(33,680)
–
14,640
(215,000)
(30,485)
(298)
(264,823)
(48,275)
143,051
94,776

668,659
(507,267)
1,686
(44,338)
118,740

(28,232)
(242)
9,640
(18,834)

(15,774)
15,774
22,161
–
(40,567)
(539)
(18,945)
80,961
62,090
143,051

50  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Key Numbers

Capital Management

Group Structure

Other

1. 

 Summary of Signifi cant 
Accounting Policies

11.   Capital Management 

17.   Non-Current Assets 

20. Share-Based Payments

Objectives

– Investments Accounted 
for Using the Equity 
Method

2.  Segment Information 

12.  Dividends Paid and 

18. Subsidiaries

21.  Remuneration of Auditors

Proposed

3.  Revenue

13. Earnings per Share

19.   Parent Entity Financial 

22. Related Party Disclosures

Information

4.  Signifi cant Items

14.   Contributed Equity 
and Reserves

23.  Leases and Other 
Commitments

5.  Income Tax Expense

15. Borrowings

6. 

 Non-Current Assets 
– Property, Plant and 
Equipment

16.  Financial Risk 

Management

24.  Events Occurring after 
Balance Sheet Date

25. Other Accounting Policies

7. 

 Non-Current Assets 
– Intangible Assets

8.  Impairment

9. 

 Reconciliation of Profi t/
(Loss) after Income Tax 
to Net Cash Infl ow from 
Operating Activities

10.  Receivables, Payables, 

Deferred Income and 
Provisions

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 51

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Key Numbers

1.  Summary of Signifi cant Accounting Policies
The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of these 
consolidated fi nancial statements are set out below. In addition, 
signifi cant and other accounting policies that summarise the 
measurement basis used and that are relevant to an understanding 
of the fi nancial statements are provided throughout the notes to 
the fi nancial statements. These policies have been consistently 
applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated. The 
fi nancial statements are for the consolidated entity consisting of 
Southern Cross Media Group Limited (“the Company”) and its 
subsidiaries (“the Group”).

Basis of preparation
This general purpose fi nancial report has been prepared in 
accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and the 
Corporations Act 2001 (where applicable). The Group is a for-profi t 
entity for the purpose of preparing the fi nancial statements.

Information in respect of the parent entity in this fi nancial report 
relates to Southern Cross Media Group Limited.

i)  Compliance with IFRS
Compliance with Australian Accounting Standards ensures that the 
fi nancial statements and notes of the Group comply with International 
Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International 
Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”). Consequently this fi nancial 
report has also been prepared in accordance with and complies with 
IFRS as issued by the IASB. 

ii)  Historical cost convention
These fi nancial statements have been prepared under the historical 
cost convention, as modifi ed by the revaluation of certain fi nancial 
assets and liabilities (including derivative instruments) at fair value 
through profi t or loss. All amounts are presented in Australian dollars, 
unless otherwise noted.

iii)  Comparative fi gures
Where necessary, comparative fi gures have been adjusted to conform 
to changes in presentation in the current year.

a)  Principles of consolidation
The consolidated fi nancial statements incorporate the assets and 
liabilities of all subsidiaries of the Company as at 30 June 2016 and 
the results of all subsidiaries for the year then ended. Subsidiaries are 
all entities over which the Group has control. The Group controls an 
entity when the Group is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns 
from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect 
those returns through its power to direct the activities of the entity. 
Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control 
is transferred to the Group. The effects of all transactions between 
entities in the Group are eliminated in full. 

The purchase method of accounting is used to account for the 
acquisition of subsidiaries by the Group except as follows:

 – At the time of Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) Southern Cross Media 
Australia Holdings Pty Limited (“SCMAHL”) was deemed to be the 
accounting acquirer of both Southern Cross Media Group Limited 
(“SCMGL”) and Southern Cross Media Trust (“SCMT”), which was 
neither the legal parent nor legal acquirer; and

 – This refl ects the requirements of AASB 3 that in situations where 
an existing entity (SCMAHL) arranges to be acquired by a smaller 
entity (SCMGL) for the purposes of a stock exchange listing, the 
existing entity (SCMAHL) should be deemed to be the acquirer, 
subject to consideration of other factors such as management of 
the entities involved in the transaction and relative fair values of 
the entities involved in the transaction. This is commonly referred 
to as a reverse acquisition. 

At the time of IPO, in November 2005, the reverse acquisition 
guidance of AASB 3 was applied to the Group and the cost of the 
Business Combination was deemed to be paid by SCMAHL to acquire 
SCMGL and SCMT. The cost was determined by reference to the fair 
value of the net assets of SCMGL and SCMT immediately prior to 
the Business Combination. The investment made by the legal parent 
SCMGL in SCMAHL to legally acquire the existing radio assets is 
eliminated on consolidation. In applying the guidance of AASB 3, 
this elimination results in a debit of $77.4 million to other equity 
transactions. This does not affect the Group’s distributable profi ts.

Rounding of amounts
The Group and the Company are of a kind referred to in ASIC 
Corporations (Rounding in Financial/Directors’ Reports) Instrument 
2016/191, issued by the Australian Securities and Investments 
Commission. The Group and the Company have relied on the relief 
provided by the instrument in the Directors’ Report and in the notes 
to the fi nancial statements. Amounts in the fi nancial report have 
been rounded off in accordance with that Instrument to the nearest 
thousand dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Critical accounting estimates and judgement
The preparation of the fi nancial report in accordance with Australian 
Accounting Standards requires the use of certain critical accounting 
estimates. It also requires management to exercise judgement in 
the process of applying the accounting policies. Estimates and 
judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical 
experience and other factors, including expectations of future 
events that may have a fi nancial impact on the entity and that are 
believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Management 
believes the estimates used in the preparation of the fi nancial 
report are reasonable. Actual results in the future may differ from 
those reported. Judgements and estimates which are material to the 
fi nancial report are found in the following notes:

Note 7  Non-Current Assets – Intangible Assets 
Note 8  Impairment 

Page 57
Page 58

Notes to the fi nancial statements
The notes to the fi nancial statements have been restructured 
to make the fi nancial report more relevant and readable, with a 
focus on information that is material to the operations, fi nancial 
position and performance of the Group. Additional information has 
also been included where it is important for understanding the 
Group’s performance.

Notes relating to individual line items in the fi nancial statements now 
include accounting policy information where it is considered relevant 
to an understanding of these items, as well as information about 
critical accounting estimates and judgements. Details of the impact 
of new accounting policies and all other accounting policy information 
are disclosed at the end of the fi nancial report in note 25.

52  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

2.  Segment Information
AASB 8 requires operating segments to be identifi ed on the basis of internal reports about components of the Group that are regularly reviewed 
by the chief operating decision maker in order to allocate resources to the segments and to assess their performance.

Management has determined operating segments based on the information reported to the Group CEO and the Company Board of Directors. 
Management has determined that the Group has two operating segments being the Regional free-to-air commercial radio and television 
broadcasting segment and the Metro free-to-air radio broadcasting segment.

Metro

Regional

Corporate

Consolidated

2016
$’000
242,253 

2015
$’000
224,147 

2016
$’000
382,267 

2015
$’000
361,553 

2016
$’000
17,769 

2015
$’000
25,420 

2016
$’000
642,289 

2015
$’000
611,120 

51,437

57,788

131,150

114,723

(14,865)

(9,249)

167,722

163,262

21.2%

25.8%

34.3%

31.7%

(83.7%)

(36.4%)

26.1%

26.7%

– 

(276,468) 

– 

(84,946) 

– 

– 

– 

(361,414) 

(5,502)

(4,995)

(13,981)

(14,384)

(9,367)

(9,155)

(28,850)

(28,534)

45,935

(223,675)

117,169

15,393

(24,232)

(18,404)

138,872

(226,686)

– 
–

– 

– 
–

– 

– 
–

– 

–
–

–

– 
–

– 

–
–

–

(36,934) 
(24,695)

(19,734) 
(38,530)

77,243 

(284,950) 

Segment Revenue
EBITDA/Segment 
Result
EBITDA % of 
Revenue
Impairment of 
intangibles and 
investments
Depreciation and 
Amortisation
Statutory EBIT/ 
Segment Result
Income tax 
expense
Financing costs
Profi t/(Loss) for the 
year attributable to 
shareholders

3.  Revenue
The profi t before income tax from continuing operations included the following specifi c items of revenue:

Revenue from continuing operations
Sales revenue
Rental revenue
Net income from sale of property, plant and equipment
Total revenue from continuing operations

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

632,993
6,562
2,734
642,289

602,419
6,261
2,440
611,120

Recognition and Measurement
Revenues are recognised at fair value of the consideration received or receivable net of the amount of GST payable to the relevant 
taxation authority.

Sales revenue
Revenue represents revenue earned primarily from the sale of television, radio and digital advertising airtime and related activities, including 
sponsorship and promotions. Revenue is recorded when the service is provided, being primarily when the advertisement is aired. Commissions 
payable to media agencies are recognised as selling costs. Other regular sources of operating revenue are derived from commercial production 
for advertisers, including facility sharing revenue and program sharing revenue. Revenue from commercial production is recognised on invoice, 
at the time of completion of the commercial.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 53

 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

4.  Signifi cant Items
The net profi t/(loss) after tax includes the following items whose disclosure is relevant in explaining the fi nancial performance of the Group. 
Signifi cant items are those items of such a nature or size that separate disclosure will assist users to understand the fi nancial statements. 

Impairment of intangibles and investments (refer notes 7 and 8)
Derecognition of Deferred Tax Liability on impairment (note 5)
Total Signifi cant Items included in net loss after tax

Consolidated

2016
$’000

–
–
–

2015
$’000

(361,414)
11,681
(349,733)

Income Tax Expense

5. 
The income tax expense for the fi nancial year differs from the amount calculated on the net result from continuing operations. The differences 
are reconciled as follows:

Income tax expense/(benefi t)
Current tax

Current tax on profi ts for the year
Adjustments for current tax of prior periods
Total current tax expense

Deferred income tax
Decrease/(increase) in net deferred tax assets
Adjustments for deferred tax of prior periods
Total deferred tax expense/(benefi t)

Reconciliation of income tax expense to prima facie tax payable
Profi t/(Loss) before income tax expense
Tax at the Australian tax rate of 30%
Tax effect of amounts which are not deductible/(taxable) in calculating taxable income
Deferred tax asset not recognised on impairment of non-current assets
Share of net profi ts of associates

Non-deductible entertainment expenses
Other (deductible expenses)/(non-assessable income)/non-deductible expenses 
Adjustments recognised in the current year in relation to prior years
Income tax expense

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

33,188
870
34,058

31,929
(3,419)
28,510

3,372
(496)
2,876

(12,498)
3,722
(8,776)

114,177
34,253

(265,216)
(79,565)

–
(86)

1,693
700
374
36,934

96,744
(53)

1,499
806
303
19,734

54  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Deferred Tax Assets

The balance comprises temporary differences attributable to:
Licences and brands
Employee benefi ts
Provisions
Interest rate swaps
Other
Net balance disclosed as deferred tax assets

Consolidated

2016
$’000

(3,253)
5,797
3,413
982
2,983
9,922 

2015
$’000

(3,253)
6,197
4,085
519
4,788
12,336

For the year ended 30 June 2016, the Company had $0.5 million of income tax benefi t (2015: $1.8 million expense) recognised directly in 
equity in relation to cash fl ow hedges, with a corresponding deferred tax asset (2015: liability) being recognised. There are no unused tax 
losses for which no deferred tax asset has been recognised.

On the acquisition of Austereo Group Ltd, a Deferred Tax Liability (“DTL”) was recognised in respect of the difference between the higher 
accounting book value and lower tax cost base of the licences and brands. As a result of the impairment in 2015, the DTL was reduced 
by $11.7 million.

Recognition and Measurement
Income Tax
Income tax amounts recognised in the Group’s fi nancial statements relate to tax paying entities within the Group and have been recognised in 
accordance with Group policy.

The income tax expense (or revenue) for the year is the tax payable on the current year’s taxable income based on the applicable tax rate 
for each jurisdiction adjusted by changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities attributable to temporary differences between the tax bases of 
assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the fi nancial statements, and adjusted by changes to unused tax losses. 

Deferred Taxes
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognised for temporary differences at the tax rates expected to apply when the assets are recovered 
or liabilities are settled, based on those tax rates which are enacted or substantively enacted for each jurisdiction. The relevant tax rates are 
applied to the cumulative amounts of deductible and taxable temporary differences to measure the deferred tax asset or liability. 

Deferred tax assets are recognised for deductible temporary differences and unused tax losses only if it is probable that future taxable amounts 
will be available to utilise those temporary differences and losses.

In determining the extent of temporary differences of assets, the carrying amount of assets is generally assumed to be recovered through use 
except for non-amortising identifi able intangible assets, such as free-to-air commercial television and radio broadcasting licences, brands and 
tradenames where the carrying amounts are assumed to be recovered through sale, unless there is evidence of recovery through use.

Tax Consolidated Group
The Company is the head entity of the tax consolidated group. For further information, refer note 19. 

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 55

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

6.  Non-Current Assets – Property, Plant and Equipment

Consolidated

2016

Cost 
Accumulated depreciation expense 
Net carrying amount 
Movement 
Net carrying amount at beginning of year 
Additions 
Disposals 
Depreciation expense 
Transfers 
Net carrying amount at end of year 

Consolidated

2015

Cost 
Accumulated depreciation expense 
Net carrying amount 
Movement 
Net carrying amount at beginning of year 
Additions 
Disposals 
Depreciation expense 
Transfers 
Net carrying amount at end of year 

 Land and 
Buildings 

Leasehold 
Improvements

Plant and
 Equipment

Assets under 
construction

$’000

38,050
(10,528)
27,522

34,122 
1,390
(6,930)
(1,060)
 –
27,522

$’000

34,590
(20,922)
13,668

15,484 
329
–
(2,000)
(145)
13,668

$’000

355,883
(260,472)
95,411

106,004 
13,049
(6,477)
(24,840)
7,675
95,411

$’000

8,648
–
8,648

8,231 
7,947
–
–
(7,530)
8,648

 Land and
 Buildings 

Leasehold 
Improvements

Plant and
 Equipment

Assets under
 construction

$’000

46,184
(12,062)
34,122

39,074 
3,762
(7,312)
(1,402)
 –
34,122

$’000

35,038
(19,554)
15,484

17,537 
–
–
(2,077)
24
15,484

$’000

393,809
(287,805)
106,004

104,526 
16,187
(264)
(24,104)
9,659
106,004

$’000

8,231
–
8,231

10,206 
7,708
–
–
(9,683)
8,231

Total

$’000

437,171
(291,922)
145,249

163,841 
22,715 
(13,407)
(27,900)
–
145,249

Total

$’000

483,262
(319,421)
163,841

171,343 
27,657 
(7,576)
(27,583)
–
163,841

Recognition and Measurement
Property, Plant and Equipment at Cost
Property, plant and equipment is recorded at cost less accumulated depreciation and cumulative impairment charges. Cost includes those 
costs directly attributable to bringing the assets into the location and working condition necessary for the asset to be capable of operating 
in the manner intended by management. The estimated cost of dismantling and removing infrastructure items and restoring the site on 
which the assets are located is only included in the cost of the asset to the extent that the Group has an obligation to restore the site and 
the cost of restoration is not recoverable from third parties. Additions, renewals and improvements are capitalised, while maintenance and 
repairs are expensed. 

The carrying values of property, plant and equipment are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that 
the carrying amounts may not be recoverable. An asset’s carrying amount is written down immediately to its recoverable amount if the asset’s 
carrying amount is greater than its estimated recoverable amount.

Depreciation
Land is not depreciated. Depreciation on other assets is calculated on a straight-line basis to write off the cost of the asset over its 
estimated useful life. 

Estimates of remaining useful life are made on a regular basis for all assets, with annual reassessments for major items. The expected useful 
life of property, plant and equipment is as follows:

Buildings
Leasehold improvements
Network equipment
Communication equipment
Other plant and equipment
Leased plant and equipment

56  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

25 – 50 years
3 – 16 years
2 – 10 years
3 – 5 years
2 – 20 years
2 – 20 years

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7.  Non-Current Assets – Intangible Assets

Consolidated

2016

Cost 
Accumulated impairment expense 
Net carrying amount 
Movement 
Net carrying amount at beginning of year 
Additions 
Impairment expense 
Net carrying amount at end of year 

Consolidated

2015

Cost 
Accumulated impairment expense 
Net carrying amount 
Movement 
Net carrying amount at beginning of year 
Additions 
Impairment expense 
Net carrying amount at end of year 

 Goodwill 

Broadcasting
 Licences

Brands and 
Tradenames

$’000

$’000

352,129
(352,129)
–

1,589,574
(364,801)
1,224,773

$’000

89,584
(24,848)
64,736

Total

$’000

2,031,287
(741,778)
1,289,509

–
–
–
–

1,224,773
–
–
1,224,773

64,667
69
–
64,736

1,289,440
69
–
1,289,509

Broadcasting
 Licences

Brands and
 Tradenames

 Goodwill 

$’000

352,129
(352,129)
–

$’000

1,589,574
(364,801)
1,224,773

35,733
–
(35,733)
–

1,525,606
–
(300,833)
1,224,773

$’000

89,515
(24,848)
64,667

89,273
242
(24,848)
64,667

Total

$’000

2,031,218
(741,778)
1,289,440

1,650,612
242
(361,414)
1,289,440

Goodwill and intangible assets with indefi nite useful lives
The Group tests at least annually whether goodwill and intangible assets with indefi nite useful lives have suffered any impairment, and when 
there is an indication of impairment. The tests incorporate assumptions regarding future events which may or may not occur, resulting in the 
need for future revisions of estimates. There are also judgements involved in determination of cash generating units.

Key Judgement
Useful Life
A summary of the useful lives of intangible assets is as follows:

Commercial Television/Radio Broadcasting Licences 
Brands and Tradenames 

Indefi nite
Indefi nite

Licences
Television and radio licences are initially recognised at cost. Analogue licences are renewable for a minimal cost every fi ve years under 
provisions within the Broadcasting Services Act. Digital licences attach to the analogue licences and renew automatically. The Directors 
understand that the revocation of a commercial television or radio licence has never occurred in Australia and they have no reason to believe 
the licences have a fi nite life. As a result, the free-to-air commercial television and radio broadcasting licences have been assessed to have 
indefi nite useful lives. 

Brands
Brands are initially recognised at cost. The brands have been assessed to have indefi nite useful lives. The Group’s brands operate in 
established markets with limited restrictions and are expected to continue to complement the Group’s media initiatives. On this basis, the 
Directors have determined that brands have indefi nite lives as there is no foreseeable limit to the period over which the assets are expected 
to generate net cash infl ows.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 57

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Impairment
Impairment tests for licences, tradenames, brands and goodwill

8. 
a) 
The value of licences, tradenames, brands and goodwill is allocated to the Group’s cash generating units (“CGUs”), identifi ed as Regional, 
being Regional free-to-air commercial radio and television broadcasting, and Metro, being Metro free-to-air commercial radio broadcasting. 

The recoverable amount of Regional and Metro at 30 June 2016 and 30 June 2015 was determined based on a value in use discounted cash 
fl ow (“DCF”) model. 

Allocation of goodwill and other intangible assets
Consolidated

2016

Goodwill allocated to CGU
Indefi nite lived intangible assets allocated to CGU 
Total goodwill and indefi nite lived intangible assets

Key Judgement

Value in use assumptions (see part (b))
Revenue growth – Forecast Period
Cost growth – Forecast Period
Long-term growth rate – terminal value
Discount rate (pre-tax)

Consolidated

2015

Goodwill allocated to CGU
Indefi nite lived intangible assets allocated to CGU 
Total goodwill and indefi nite lived intangible assets

Key Judgement
Value in use assumptions (see part (b))
Revenue growth – Forecast Period
Cost growth – Forecast Period
Long-term growth rate – terminal value
Discount rate (pre-tax)

Regional CGU

Metro CGU

$’000

–
673,239
673,239

$’000

–
616,270
616,270

Total

$’000

–
1,289,509
1,289,509

%

0.3
0.8
1.0
12.8

%

3.6
2.8
2.3
12.2

Regional CGU

Metro CGU

$’000

–
673,239
673,239

$’000

–
616,201
616,201

Total

$’000

–
1,289,440
1,289,440

%

2.4
2.3
1.4
12.8

%

4.1
4.3
2.5
12.3

b)  Key assumptions used for value in use calculations
The value in use calculations use cash fl ow projections based on the 2016 fi nancial budgets extended over the subsequent four-year period 
(“Forecast Period”) and applies a terminal value calculation using estimated growth rates approved by the Board for the business relevant 
to each CGU. In determining appropriate growth rates to apply to the Forecast Period and to the terminal calculation, the Group considered 
forecast reports from independent media experts as well as internal company data and assumptions. In respect to each CGU the market growth 
rates did not exceed the independent forecast reports. The discount rate used refl ects specifi c risks relating to the relevant segments and the 
economies in which they operate.

58  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Impact of a reasonably possible change in key assumptions

c) 
Sensitivity
Any variation in the key assumptions used to determine the value in use would result in a change of the recoverable amount of the Regional and 
Metro CGUs. Negative variances may cause impairment in future periods. The following reasonable shifts in key assumptions would result in a 
recoverable amount equal to the carrying value:

Sensitivity

2016

Revenue growth – Forecast Period
Cost growth – Forecast Period
Long-term growth rate – terminal value
Discount rate (pre-tax)

Change in variable

Regional CGU
%

Metro CGU
%

–0.9%
+1.2%
–0.9%
+0.9%

–1.2%
+1.6%
–1.6%
+1.6%

At 30 June 2015 recoverable amount was equal to the carrying value for the Regional and Metro CGUs following the recording of impairment 
losses in that year of $84.9 million in the Regional CGU and $276.5 million in the Metro CGU.

9.  Reconciliation of Profi t/(Loss) after Income Tax to Net Cash Infl ow from Operating Activities

Profi t/(Loss) after income tax
Impairment of investments and non-current assets
Depreciation and amortisation
Profi t on disposal of assets
Share of associate (profi t)/loss 
Interest expense and other borrowing costs included in fi nancing activities 
Share-based payments
Change in operating assets and liabilities:
Increase in receivables
Decrease/(increase) in deferred taxes (net of tax movement in hedge reserve)
Increase in payables (excluding interest expense classifi ed as fi nancing activities)
Increase/(decrease) in deferred income
Increase/(decrease) in provision for income tax
Decrease in provisions
Net cash infl ows from operating activities

Consolidated

2016
$’000

77,243
–
28,850
(2,734)
(286)
26,029
3,261

(20,772)
2,876
10,886
100,100
1,578
(3,293)
223,738

2015
$’000

(284,950)
361,414
28,534
(2,440)
(179)
40,216
3,828

(5,247)
(8,776)
4,054
(672)
(15,828)
(1,214)
118,740

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 59

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

10. Receivables, Payables, Deferred Income and Provisions
a)  Receivables

Current
Trade receivables
Provision for doubtful debts
Prepayments
Other 

Non-current
Refundable deposits
Related parties
Other

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

127,412
(650)
12,520
2,721
142,003

110,766
(663)
10,040
1,895
122,038

Consolidated

2016
$’000

81
786
1,810
2,677

2015
$’000

605
1,255
2,690
4,550

The carrying amounts of the non-current receivables approximate their fair value.

Ageing analysis of assets
The tables below summarise the ageing analysis of assets past due but not impaired and impaired assets as at 30 June.

Consolidated
As at 30 June 2016

Trade receivables
Provision for doubtful debts

Consolidated
As at 30 June 2015

Trade receivables
Provision for doubtful debts

Current – 
not past due
$’000

Past due –
up to 60 days
$’000

Past due – 
60–90 days
$’000

Past due –
>90 days
$’000

115,263
–

8,136
–

1,952
–

2,061
(650)

Current – 
not past due
$’000

Past due –
up to 60 days
$’000

Past due – 
60–90 days
$’000

Past due –
>90 days
$’000

97,117
–

9,368
–

1,432
–

2,849
(663)

Total
$’000

127,412
(650)

Total
$’000

110,766
(663)

The Group has recognised expenses in respect of bad and doubtful trade receivables during the year ended 30 June 2016 of $665,927 
(2015: expense of $719,842). This provision is based on known bad debts and past experience for receipt of trade receivables. A provision 
for doubtful debts is established when there is objective evidence that the Group will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the 
original terms of the receivable. The amount of the provision is recognised in profi t or loss. Where a debt is known to be uncollectible, it is 
considered a bad debt and written off.

Recognition and Measurement
Trade Receivables
Trade receivables are recognised at fair value, being the original invoice amount and subsequently measured at amortised cost less provision 
for doubtful debts. Generally credit terms are for 30 days from date of invoice or 45 days for an accredited agency. 

Transferred Trade Receivables
The carrying amounts of the trade receivables include receivables which are subject to a non-recourse securitisation arrangement. Under 
this arrangement, the Group has transferred the relevant receivables to the securitisation vehicle in exchange for cash, and is prevented from 
selling or pledging the receivables. Whilst legal ownership has been transferred to the securitisation vehicle, the Group retains a portion of late 
payment and credit risk for the amounts yet to be received from the securitisation vehicle in respect of the securitised receivables. The Group 
therefore continues to recognise the transferred assets in their entirety in the balance sheet. The amount received under the securitisation 
arrangement is presented as current secured borrowings in the balance sheet.

60  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Current
Carrying amount of transferred receivables (included in trade receivables)
Carrying amount of associated secured borrowings (included in secured borrowings)

b)  Payables

Current
Trade creditors
GST payable 
Accruals and other payables

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

55,427
(36,801)

47,309
(22,161)

Consolidated

2016
$’000

15,596
3,812
66,980
86,388

2015
$’000

8,761
3,809
68,354
80,924

Recognition and Measurement
Trade Creditors, Accruals and Other Payables
These amounts represent liabilities for goods and services provided to the Group prior to the end of the fi nancial year and which are unpaid. 
The amounts are unsecured and are usually paid within 60 days of recognition.

c)  Deferred Income

Current
Deferred income

Non-current
Deferred income

Consolidated

2016
$’000

12,590
12,590

Consolidated

2016
$’000

95,278
95,278

2015
$’000

7,768
7,768

2015
$’000

–
–

Recognition and Measurement
Deferred Income
During the year the Group entered into a long-term contract with Australian Traffi c Network (“ATN”) for it to provide traffi c reports for 
broadcast on Southern Cross Austereo (“SCA”) radio stations. SCA received payment of $100 million from ATN in return for its stations 
broadcasting advertising tags provided by ATN attached to news and traffi c reports. The contract has a term of 20 years, with an option for 
ATN to extend it by a further 10 years. The $100 million payment has been recorded on the balance sheet under “Deferred Income” and will 
be released to the Income Statement over a 30 year period, unless the contract ends after 20 years at which point the remaining balance will 
be recognised as revenue in year 20. This treatment will match the receipt of future broadcasting services, airtime and traffi c management 
services that the Group is required to provide over the life of the contract.

In addition to the payment received from ATN, deferred income represents government grants received. Grants from the government 
relating to costs are deferred and recognised in profi t or loss over the period necessary to match them with the costs that they are 
intended to compensate.

Government grants relating to the purchase of property, plant and equipment are deferred and recognised in profi t or loss on a straight-line 
basis over the expected useful lives of the related assets.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 61

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

10. Receivables, Payables, Deferred Income and Provisions (continued)
d)  Provisions

Current
Employee benefi ts
Onerous contracts
Lease provisions

Non-current
Employee benefi ts
Onerous contracts
Lease provisions

Movements in current and non-current provisions, other than provisions for employee benefi ts, are set out below:

Balance at the beginning of the fi nancial year 
Movements in the year
Balance at the end of the fi nancial year

Consolidated

2016
$’000

17,178
1,574
595
19,347

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2,144
3,241
6,454

2015
$’000

18,600
1,528
848
20,976

2015
$’000

2,057
4,815
6,918

11,839

13,790

Consolidated

2016
$’000

14,109
(2,245)
11,864

2015
$’000

16,452
(2,343)
14,109

Recognition and Measurement
Provisions
A provision is recognised when there is a legal, equitable or constructive obligation as a result of a past event and it is probable that a future 
sacrifi ce of economic benefi ts will be required to settle the obligation, the timing or amount of which is uncertain.

Where there are a number of similar obligations, the likelihood that an outfl ow will be required in settlement is determined by considering the 
class of obligations as a whole. A provision is recognised even if the likelihood of an outfl ow with respect to any one item included in the same 
class of obligations may be small.

Provisions are measured at the present value of management’s best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the present obligation at the 
balance sheet date. The discount rate used to determine the present value refl ects current market estimates of the time value of money and the 
risks specifi c to the liability. The increase in the provision due to the passage of time is recognised as interest expense.

Wages and salaries, leave and other entitlements
Liabilities for unpaid salaries, salary related costs and provisions for annual leave are recorded in the Statement of Financial Position at the 
salary rates which are expected to be paid when the liability is settled. Provisions for long service leave and other long-term benefi ts are 
recognised at the present value of expected future payments to be made. In determining this amount, consideration is given to expected future 
salary levels and employee service histories. Expected future payments are discounted to their net present value using high quality corporate 
bond rates with terms that match as closely as possible to the expected future cash fl ows.

62  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Non-Recourse Receivables Financing Facility
In June 2015 the Banking Group entered into a $65 million non-
recourse Receivables Financing Agreement (“RFA”) that enables the 
Group to convert receivables to cash quicker, providing an additional 
source of funding for the Group’s working capital needs. As the Group 
retains an interest in each of the receivables, and as the advance rate 
for each debtor is less than its face value and the Group only receives 
further payment if the debtor pays the receivable, the full face value 
of the receivable is retained on the Group’s balance sheet and the 
amount advanced under the RFA is recorded as a liability. As the 
RFA is considered non-recourse, it is excluded from net debt for the 
purposes of the leverage ratio calculation. 

Further details on the Group’s debt facilities are outlined in note 15.

Property, Plant and Equipment
The capital expenditure for 2016 was $22.7 million (2015: 
$27.7 million). 

During the year the Group divested a number of non-core properties 
which resulted in approximately $16.1 million cash being received 
which was used to reduce net debt. 

Further details on the Group’s fi xed assets are outlined in note 6.

Capital Management

11.  Capital Management Objectives
The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the 
Group’s ability to continue as a going concern, so that it can continue 
to provide appropriate returns for shareholders and benefi ts for other 
stakeholders and to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce 
the cost of capital.

In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may 
adjust the amount of dividends paid to shareholders, maintain a 
fully underwritten dividend reinvestment plan, return capital to 
shareholders, issue new shares, buy back existing shares or sell 
assets to reduce debt. The Group has taken measures to reduce net 
debt and has achieved its stated objective of reaching a leverage ratio 
of below 2.5 times. The following outlines the capital management 
policies that are currently in place for the Group:

Dividend Policy
Dividend Payout Ratio
The Group’s dividend policy has been to pay out between 60-70% of 
underlying fi nancial year Net Profi t After Tax, as advised in a Capital 
Management Initiatives media release on 24 November 2011. There 
has been no change to this stated policy since this media release.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan (“DRP”)
The Group operates a DRP whereby shareholders can elect to receive 
their dividends by way of receiving shares in the Company instead 
of cash. The Company can elect to either issue new shares, or to 
buy shares on-market. The DRP was in operation for the 2015 fi nal 
dividend but was suspended for the 2016 interim dividend following 
the successful reduction in the Group’s leverage ratio.

For the fi nal 2015 dividend, the DRP operated with a 2.5% discount 
being offered to participants (2015: 2.5% discount for the fi nal 2014 
and interim 2015 dividends) and achieved a participation rate of 
61.53% (2015: average of 63%).

Further details on the Group’s dividends are outlined in note 12.

Debt Facilities
Syndicated Debt Facility
The Group has a $495 million (2015: $650 million) revolving 5 year 
Syndicated Facility Agreement (“SFA”) expiring on 12 January 2019. 
This facility is used as core debt for the Group, and may be paid down 
and redrawn in accordance with the SFA. During the year, the Group 
cancelled $155 million of this facility to reduce its commitment from 
$650 million to $495 million.

Covenants
For the duration of the Syndicated Facility Agreement, the Banking 
Group, being Southern Cross Austereo Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries, 
has a maximum leverage ratio covenant of 3.5 times and a minimum 
interest cover ratio of 3.0 times. As at 30 June 2016, the leverage 
ratio was 1.89 times and the interest cover ratio was 7.6 times.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 63

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

12. Dividends Paid and Proposed
The dividends were paid as follows:

The dividends were paid as follows: 
 Interim dividend paid for the half year ended 31 December 2015/2014 – fully franked at the tax rate of 30%
Final dividend paid for the year ended 30 June 2015/2014 – fully franked at the tax rate of 30%

Dividends paid in cash or satisfi ed by the issue of shares under the dividend reinvestment plan 
were as follows:
Paid in cash
Satisfi ed by issue of shares

Interim dividend paid for the half year ended 31 December
Final dividend paid for the year ended 30 June

Consolidated

2016
$’000

24,983
22,608
47,591

33,680
13,911
47,591

2015
$’000

21,970
21,157
43,127

15,774
27,353
43,127

Cents per 
share

Cents per
 share

3.25
3.00
6.25

3.00
3.00
6.00

The Group has $122.5 million of franking credits at 30 June 2016 (2015: $111.9 million).

Provision is made for the amount of any dividend declared, being appropriately authorised and no longer at the discretion of the Company, on 
or before the end of the fi nancial year but not distributed at the end of the reporting period. 

Since the end of the fi nancial year the Directors have declared the payment of a fi nal 2016 ordinary dividend of $26.9 million (3.5 cents per 
fully paid share) out of current year earnings. This dividend will be paid on 11 October 2016 by the Company.

13. Earnings per Share

Continuing Operations
Profi t/(Loss) attributable to shareholders from continuing operations ($’000)
Profi t attributable to shareholders from continuing operations excluding signifi cant items ($’000)
Weighted average number of shares used as the denominator in calculating basic earnings per share 
(shares, ’000)
Weighted average number of ordinary shares and potential ordinary shares used as the denominator in 
calculating diluted earnings per share (shares, ’000)
Basic earnings per share (cents per share)
Diluted earnings per share (cents per share)
Excluding Signifi cant Items (refer note 4)
Basic earnings per share excluding signifi cant items (cents per share)
Diluted earnings per share excluding signifi cant items (cents per share)
Dividends paid/proposed for the year as a % of NPAT (excluding signifi cant items)

Consolidated

2016

2015

77,243
77,243

(284,950)
64,783

763,422

725,688

765,025
10.12 
10.10 

725,688

(39.27) 
(39.27) 

10.12 
10.10 
67.2%

8.93 
8.93 
68.8%

Recognition and Measurement
Basic earnings per share
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profi t or loss attributable to equity holders of the Company, excluding any costs of 
servicing equity other than ordinary shares, by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the fi nancial year.

Diluted earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share adjusts the fi gures used in the determination of basic earnings per share to take into account the after income tax 
effect of interest and other fi nancing costs associated with dilutive potential shares and the weighted average number of shares assumed to 
have been issued for no consideration in relation to dilutive potential shares.

64  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

14. Contributed Equity and Reserves

Ordinary shares 
Contributed equity

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

1,379,386
1,379,386

1,365,110
1,365,110

On 22 December 2014, the share capital of the Company was reduced in accordance with Section 258F of the Corporations Act. The amount 
of the reduction was $368 million and represented the value of paid up share capital that was not represented by available assets.

On issue at the beginning of the fi nancial year

Capital reduction
Shares issued for equity component in talent contracts 
Shares issued in relation to the DRP and DRP underwrite
On issue at the end of the fi nancial year

Consolidated

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

2016
Number of 
securities
’000

1,365,110

1,686,878

753,586

–
365
13,911
1,379,386

(368,000)
3,105
43,127
1,365,110

–
304
14,837
768,727

2015
Number of 
securities
’000

705,247

–
3,174
45,165
753,586

Ordinary shares in Southern Cross Media Group Limited
Ordinary shares entitle the holder to participate in distributions and the proceeds on winding-up of the Company in proportion to the number 
of and amounts paid on the shares held.

On a show of hands, each shareholder present in person and each other person present as a proxy has one vote and upon a poll, each share 
is entitled to one vote.

Ordinary shares have no par value and the Company does not have a limited amount of authorised capital.

Employee share entitlements
The Group operates an LTI plan for its senior executives. Information relating to the employee share entitlements, including details of shares 
issued under the scheme, is set out in the Remuneration Report.

Nature and purpose of reserves
a)  Share-based payments reserve 
The share-based payments reserve is used to recognise the fair value of future potential shares to be issued to employees for no consideration 
in respect of performance rights offered under the Long-Term Incentive plan. During the year no performance rights have vested (2015: 
nil) and 1,393,443 (2015: 1,027,757) performance rights have been granted. In the current year, $527,762 (2015: $723,407) has been 
recognised as an expense in the Statement of Comprehensive Income as the fair value of potential shares to be issued. 

b)  Hedge reserve 
The hedge reserve is used to record gains or losses on a hedging instrument in a cash fl ow hedge that are recognised in Other Comprehensive 
Income. Amounts are reclassifi ed to the Statement of Comprehensive Income when the associated hedged transaction affects profi t or loss. 

c)  Reverse Acquisition Reserve
As described in note 1(a), there is a reverse acquisition reserve of $77.4 million (2015: $77.4 million) in connection with the IPO of the Group.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 65

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

15. Borrowings
a)  Total interest bearing liabilities

Current secured borrowings
Borrowing costs
Securitised receivables
Lease liabilities
Total secured current interest bearing liabilities

Non-current secured borrowings
Bank facilities
Borrowing costs
Lease liabilities
Total secured non-current interest bearing liabilities
Total current and non-current borrowings

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

(973)
36,801
129
35,957

(984)
22,161
84
21,261

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

435,000
(1,268)
132
433,864
469,821

650,000
(2,249)
213
647,964
669,225

For all non-current borrowings, the carrying amount approximates fair value in the balance sheet.

On 19 June 2015, the Company entered into a $65 million non-recourse receivables fi nancing facility. As at 30 June 2016 the amount of 
funding received under the securitised facility was $36.8 million (2015: $22.2 million). 

b) 

Interest expense

Interest expense and other borrowing costs
External banks
Amortisation of borrowing costs
Total interest expense and other borrowing costs

Consolidated

2016
$’000

25,053
976
26,029

2015
$’000

39,079
1,137
40,216

c)  Bank facilities and assets pledged as security
The $495 million debt facilities (2015: $650 million) of the Banking Group are secured by a fi xed and fl oating charge over the assets and 
undertakings of the Banking Group and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and also by a mortgage over shares in Southern Cross Austereo Pty 
Ltd. These facilities mature on 12 January 2019 and have an average variable interest rate of 4.28% (2015: 4.83%). These facilities are 
denominated in Australian dollars.

There are certain fi nancial and non-fi nancial covenants which are required to be met by subsidiaries in the Group. One of these covenants is 
an undertaking that the subsidiary is in compliance with the requirements of the facility before any amount may be distributed to the benefi t of 
the ultimate parent entity, Southern Cross Media Group Limited. Covenant testing dates fall at 30 June and 31 December each year until the 
facility maturity date. 

66  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

The carrying amounts of assets pledged as security by Southern Cross Austereo Pty Ltd for current and non-current borrowings are:

Current assets
Floating charge
Cash and cash equivalents
Receivables
Total current assets pledged as security

Non-current assets
Floating charge
Receivables
Investments accounted for using the equity method
Property, plant and equipment
Intangible assets
Total non-current assets pledged as security
Total assets pledged as security

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

94,770
141,068
235,838

143,046
121,543
264,589

2,597
3,266
145,249
1,289,509
1,440,621
1,676,459

3,633
2,980
163,841
1,289,440
1,459,894
1,724,483

Recognition and Measurement
Borrowings
Borrowings are initially recognised at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred. Transaction costs that have been paid or accrued for prior 
to the drawdown of debt are classifi ed as prepayments. Borrowings are subsequently measured at amortised cost. Any difference between 
the proceeds (net of transaction costs) and the redemption amount is recognised in profi t or loss over the period of the borrowings using the 
effective interest method. Borrowings are classifi ed as current liabilities unless the Group has an unconditional right to defer settlement of the 
liability for at least 12 months after the balance sheet date.

Borrowing costs
Borrowing costs are expensed over the life of the facility to which they relate.

16. Financial Risk Management
The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of fi nancial risks: market risk (the Group’s main exposure to market risk is interest rate risk), 
liquidity risk and cash fl ow interest rate risk. There is a relatively low level of credit risk on receivables that is managed by careful business 
practices (refer note 10). The Group’s overall risk management program focuses on the unpredictability of fi nancial markets and seeks to 
minimise potential adverse effects on the fi nancial performance of the Group. The Group uses derivative fi nancial instruments such as interest 
rate swaps to hedge certain risk exposures.

The Risk Management Policy is carried out by management under policies approved by the Board. Senior management of the Group identify, 
quantify and qualify fi nancial risks as part of developing and implementing the risk management process. The Risk Management Policy is a 
written document approved by the Board that outlines the fi nancial risk management process to be adopted by management. Specifi c fi nancial 
risks that have been identifi ed by the Group are interest rate risk and liquidity risk.

a) 
Interest rate risk
Nature of interest rate risk
Interest rate risk is the Group’s exposure to the risk that interest rates move in a way that adversely affects the ability of the Group to pay its 
interest rate commitments. The Group’s interest rate risk arises from long-term borrowings which are taken out at variable interest rates and 
therefore expose the Group to a cash fl ow risk.

Interest rate risk management
The Group does not have a formal policy to fi x rates on its borrowings but manages its cash fl ow interest rate risk by using variable to 
fi xed interest rate swaps. Such interest rate swaps have the economic effect of converting borrowings from variable rates to fi xed rates. 
Generally, the Group raises long-term borrowings at variable rates and swaps them into fi xed rates that are lower than those available if the 
Group borrowed at fi xed rates directly. Under the interest rate swaps, the Group agrees with other parties to exchange, at specifi ed intervals 
(quarterly), the difference between fi xed contract rates and variable rate interest amounts calculated by reference to the agreed notional 
principal amounts. 

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 67

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

Interest rate risk (continued)

16. Financial Risk Management (continued)
a) 
Exposure and sensitivity to interest rate risk
External borrowings of the Group currently bear an average variable interest rate of 4.28% (2015: 4.83%). In 2015 the Group entered into 
$320 million of interest rate swap contracts under which it is obliged to receive interest at variable rates and to pay interest at fi xed rates at an 
average fi xed rate of 2.5% (2015: 2.5%). These interest rate swap contracts will expire in January 2018. Details on how the Group accounts 
for the interest rate swap contracts as cashfl ow hedges is disclosed in note 25.

Derivative fi nancial instruments

Interest rate swap contracts – current liability
Interest rate swap contracts – non-current liability
Total derivative fi nancial instruments

Consolidated

2016
$’000

–
3,273
3,273

2015
$’000

–
1,732
1,732

Interest rate swap contracts
The contracts require settlement of net interest receivable or payable and are timed to coincide with the approximate dates on which interest 
is payable on the underlying debt.

These interest rate swaps are cash fl ow hedges as they satisfy the requirements for hedge accounting. Any change in fair value of the interest 
rate swaps is taken to the hedge reserve in equity. 

In assessing interest rate risk, management has assumed a +/– 25 basis points movement (2015: +/– 25 basis points) in the relevant interest 
rates at 30 June 2016 for fi nancial assets and liabilities denominated in Australian Dollars (“AUD”). The following table illustrates the impact 
on profi t or loss with no impact directly on equity for the Group.

Consolidated
AUD exposures 

2016
Cash at bank
Interest rate swaps
Borrowings
2015
Cash at bank
Interest rate swaps
Borrowings

Carrying 
Value

Impact on post-tax profi ts
Increase/(decrease)

Impact on reserves
Increase/(decrease) 

+/– 25 basis points

+/– 25 basis points

$’000

94,776
(3,273)
(435,000)

143,051
(1,732)
(650,000)

$’000

+25
166
–
(761)
+25
250
–
(1,138)

$’000

–25
(166)
–
761
–25
(250)
–
1,138

$’000

+25
–
1,396
–
+25
–
2,156
–

$’000

–25
–
(1,400)
–
–25
–
(2,168)
–

68  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

b)  Liquidity risk
Nature of liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is the risk of an entity encountering diffi culty in meeting obligations associated with fi nancial liabilities.

Liquidity risk management
Prudent liquidity risk management implies maintaining suffi cient cash, the availability of funding through an adequate amount of committed 
credit facilities and the ability to close out market positions. The Group and Company have a prudent liquidity management policy which 
manages liquidity risk by monitoring the stability of funding, surplus cash or near cash assets, anticipated cash in and outfl ows and exposure 
to connected parties.

Exposure and sensitivity
Financing arrangements
Unrestricted access was available at balance date to the following lines of credit:

Consolidated

As at 30 June 2016
Line of credit value 
Used at balance date 
Unused at balance date 

Consolidated

As at 30 June 2015
Line of credit value 
Used at balance date 
Unused at balance date 

Working 
capital 
facility

$’000
5,000
(4,113)
887

Working 
capital 
facility

$’000
5,000
(4,087)
913

Non-recourse
 receivables 
fi nancing 
facility

$’000
65,000
(36,801)
28,199

Non-recourse
 receivables
 fi nancing
 facility

$’000
65,000
(22,161)
42,839

Total 
facilities

$’000
565,000
(475,914)
89,086

Total 
facilities

$’000
720,000
(676,248)
43,752

 Bank facilities 

$’000
495,000
(435,000)
60,000

 Bank facilities 

$’000
650,000
(650,000)
–

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 69

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

16. Financial Risk Management (continued)
b)  Liquidity risk (continued)
The $495 million debt facility for the Group matures on 12 January 2019. The Group’s bank facilities are denominated in Australian dollars 
as at 30 June 2016 and 30 June 2015. The non-recourse receivables fi nancing facility matures on 19 June 2017.

Undiscounted future cash fl ows
The tables below summarise the maturity profi le of the fi nancial liabilities as at 30 June based on contractual undiscounted repayment 
obligations. Repayments which are subject to notice are treated as if notice were given immediately.

Consolidated
As at 30 June 2016

Lease liabilities
Borrowings – Principal
Interest cashfl ows1 
Derivative fi nancial instruments2
Securitised receivables
Payables3
Total

Consolidated
As at 30 June 2015

Lease liabilities
Borrowings – Principal
Interest cashfl ows1 
Derivative fi nancial instruments2
Securitised receivables
Payables3
Total

Less than 
1 year
$’000

144
–
17,758
–
36,801
82,576
137,279

Less than 
1 year
$’000

103
–
28,560
–
22,161
77,115
127,939

1-2 years
$’000

86
–
17,958
3,273
–
–
21,317

2-3 years
$’000

48
435,000
8,640
–
–
–
443,688

3-5 years
$’000

Greater than 
5 years
$’000

3
–
–
–
–
–
3

4
–
–
–
–
–
4

1-2 years
$’000

2-3 years
$’000

102
–
28,207
–
–
–
28,309

73
–
27,477
1,732
–
–
29,282

3-5 years
$’000

15
650,000
13,672
–
–
–
663,687

Greater than 
5 years
$’000

4
–
–
–
–
–
4

1   Calculated using a weighted average variable interest rate. Interest cashfl ows includes interest on principal borrowings, swap interest and the commitment fee on the 

non-recourse receivables fi nancing facility.

2   The fair value of fi nancial instruments that are not traded in an active market is determined using valuation techniques. The Group uses a variety of methods and makes 
assumptions that are based on market conditions existing at the end of each reporting period. The fair value of interest rate swaps is calculated as the present value 
of the estimated future cash fl ows and is included in level 2 under derivative fi nancial instruments. The total fair value of derivatives used for hedging is $3.3 million 
(2015: $1.7 million).

3   The payables balance excludes GST Payable as this is not a fi nancial liability.

70  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Group Structure

17.  Non-Current Assets – Investments Accounted for Using the Equity Method

Carrying amount at the beginning of the fi nancial year
Share of profi t/(losses) after income tax
Contributions to associates and joint ventures
Carrying amount at the end of the fi nancial year

Consolidated

2016
$’000

3,059
286
312
3,657

2015
$’000

2,880
179
–
3,059

18. Subsidiaries
The consolidated fi nancial statements incorporate the assets, liabilities and results of the following subsidiaries:

Name of entity

SCM No 1 Limited (SCM1)
Southern Cross Media Australia Holdings Pty Limited (SCMAHL)
Southern Cross Media Group Investments Pty Ltd (SCMGI)
Southern Cross Austereo Pty Limited (SCAPL) and controlled entities

Country of
 incorporation

Class of
 shares/units

Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia

Ordinary
Ordinary
Ordinary
Ordinary

Effective 
ownership 
interest
2016

Effective 
ownership 
interest
2015

100%
100%
100%
100%

100%
100%
100%
100%

The proportion of ownership interest is equal to the proportion of voting power held unless otherwise indicated.

Recognition and Measurement 
Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are those entities over which the Group has the power to govern the fi nancial and operating policies, generally accompanying a 
shareholding of more than one-half of voting rights. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to the 
Group. The existence and effect of potential voting rights that are currently exercisable or convertible are considered when assessing whether 
the Group controls another entity. 

The purchase method of accounting is used to account for the acquisition of subsidiaries by the Group. Where control of an entity is obtained 
during a fi nancial year, its results are included in the Statement of Comprehensive Income from the date on which control commences. Where 
control of an entity ceases during a fi nancial year, its results are included for that part of the year during which control existed.

Intercompany transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between Group companies are eliminated. 

Non-controlling interests in the results and equity of subsidiaries are shown separately in the consolidated Statements of Comprehensive 
Income and Statements of Financial Position respectively.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 71

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

19. Parent Entity Financial Information
a)  Summary fi nancial information
The following aggregate amounts are disclosed in respect of the parent entity, Southern Cross Media Group Limited:

Statement of Financial Position

Current assets
Non-current assets
Total assets
Current liabilities
Total liabilities
Net assets
Issued capital
Reserves
Retained profi ts – 2013 reserve
Accumulated losses – 2014 reserve
Retained profi ts – 2015 H1 interim reserve
Accumulated losses – 2015 H2 reserve
Retained profi ts – 2016 reserve
Total equity
Profi t/(loss) for the year
Total comprehensive income

Southern Cross Media 
Group Limited

2016
$’000

876
964,654
965,530
4,260
4,260
961,270
1,281,798
4,754
67,648
(96,805)
22,761
(323,833)
4,947
961,270
52,538
52,538

2015
$’000

500
944,486
944,986
3,467
3,467
941,519
1,267,522
4,226
67,648
(96,805)
22,761
(323,833)
–
941,519
(279,102)
(279,102)

As a result of the impairment in 2015 of the Metro and Regional CGUs, the carrying value of the parent entity’s investment in the relevant 
subsidiaries was reviewed for impairment. The carrying amount of the investment was compared with the recoverable amount of the 
subsidiaries and resulted in an impairment of $325.6 million in 2015.

b)  Guarantees entered into by the parent entity
The parent entity has not provided any fi nancial guarantees in respect of bank overdrafts and loans of subsidiaries as at 30 June 2016 
(2015: nil). The parent entity has not given any unsecured guarantees at 30 June 2016 (2015: nil).

c)  Contingent liabilities of the parent entity
The parent entity did not have any contingent liabilities as at 30 June 2016 (30 June 2015: $nil). 

d)  Contractual commitments for the acquisition of property, plant or equipment
As at 30 June 2016, the parent entity had no contractual commitments (30 June 2015: $nil). 

Recognition and Measurement
Parent entity fi nancial information 
The fi nancial information for the parent entity has been prepared on the same basis as the consolidated fi nancial statements, except as set out 
on the following page.

i)  Investments in subsidiaries, associates and joint venture entities 
Investments in subsidiaries are accounted for at cost in the fi nancial statements of the Company, less any impairment charges.

ii)  Tax consolidation legislation 
The Company and its wholly-owned Australian controlled entities have implemented the tax consolidation legislation as of 23 November 2005.

The Company is the head entity of the tax consolidated group. Members of the group have entered into a tax sharing agreement in order to 
allocate income tax expense to the wholly-owned subsidiaries on a stand-alone basis. The tax sharing arrangement provides for the allocation 
of income tax liabilities between the entities should the head entity default on its tax payment obligations. The possibility of such a default is 
considered remote at the date of this report.

Members of the tax consolidated group have entered into a tax funding agreement. The Group has applied the group allocation approach in 
determining the appropriate amount of current taxes to allocate to members of the tax consolidated group. The tax funding agreement provides 
for each member of the tax consolidated group to pay a tax equivalent amount to or from the parent in accordance with their notional current 
tax liability or current tax asset. Such amounts are refl ected in amounts receivable from or payable to the parent company in their accounts and 
are settled as soon as practicable after lodgement of the consolidated return and payment of the tax liability.

72  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Other 

20. Share-Based Payments
The Company operates a long-term incentive plan for Executive KMP, and previously to certain senior executives. The share-based payment 
expense for the year ended 30 June 2016 was $527,762 (2015: $723,407).

The following table reconciles the performance rights outstanding at the beginning and end of the year:

Number of performance rights

Balance at beginning of the year
Granted during the year
Exercised during the year
Forfeited during the year
Balance at end of the year
Exercisable at end of the year

2016

2015

1,639,982
1,393,443
–
(957,662)
2,075,763
–

4,647,945
1,027,758
–
(4,035,721)
1,639,982
–

Recognition and Measurement
Share-based compensation benefi ts are provided to employees via certain Employee Agreements. Information relating to these Agreements is 
set out in the Remuneration Report. The fair value of entitlements granted is recognised as an employee benefi t expense with a corresponding 
increase in equity. The fair value is measured at grant date and recognised as an expense over the period during which the employees become 
unconditionally entitled to the shares. 

The fair value of the performance rights issued during 2016 was determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model for the TSR performance 
rights and a Black-Scholes-Merton model for the EPS performance rights, with the following inputs:

Grant date
Grant date share price
Fair value at grant date
Exercise price
Dividend yield
Risk free interest rate
Expected volatility

Relative TSR

2 September 2015
$0.93
$0.45
Nil
6.56%
1.79%
37.81%

Absolute EPS

2 September 2015
$0.93
$0.77
Nil
6.56%
1.79%
37.81%

The fair value at grant date of the securities granted is adjusted to refl ect market vesting conditions, but excludes the impact of any non-market 
vesting conditions (for example, profi tability and sales growth targets). Non-market vesting conditions are included in assumptions about the 
number of shares that are expected to be issued. At each balance sheet date, the entity revises its estimate of the number of shares that 
are expected to be issued. The employee benefi t expense recognised each period takes into account the most recent estimate. The impact 
of the revision to original estimates, if any, is recognised in profi t or loss with a corresponding adjustment to equity. Where the terms of the 
share-based payment entitlement are modifi ed in the favour of the employee, the changes are refl ected when determining the impact on 
profi t or loss. 

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 73

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

21.  Remuneration of Auditors

(a) Audit and other assurance services
PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian fi rm:
Statutory audit and review of fi nancial reports
Other assurance services
Regulatory returns
Total remuneration for audit and other assurance services
(b) Taxation services
PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian fi rm:
Tax services
Total remuneration for taxation services
(c) Other services 
PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian fi rm:
Debt advisory and cash management
Other consulting services
Total remuneration for other services
Total

Consolidated

2016
$

2015
$

644,400
–
35,000
679,400

724,400
62,500
25,000
811,900

21,750
21,750

78,108
78,108

–
–
–
701,150

126,812
5,200
132,012
1,022,020

The Group may decide to employ the auditor on assignments additional to their statutory audit duties where the auditor’s expertise and 
experience with the Company and/or the Group are important. 

The Board has considered the position and, in accordance with the advice received from the Audit and Risk Committee, is satisfi ed that 
the provision of the non-audit services is compatible with the general standard of independence for auditors imposed by the Corporations 
Act 2001. The Directors are satisfi ed that the provision of non-audit services by the auditor did not compromise the auditor independence 
requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 for the following reasons:
 – all non-audit services have been reviewed by the Audit and Risk Committee to ensure they do not impact the impartiality and objectivity 

of the auditor; and

 – none of the services undermine the general principles relating to auditor independence as set out in APES 110: Code of Ethics for 

Professional Accountants, including reviewing or auditing the auditor’s own work, acting in a management or a decision-making capacity 
for the Company, acting as advocate for the Company or jointly sharing economic risk and rewards.

74  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

22. Related Party Disclosures
Balances and transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related parties of the Company, have been eliminated on 
consolidation and are not disclosed in this note. Details of transactions between the Group and other related parties are disclosed below.

a)  KMP
During the year, no KMP of the Company or the Group has received or become entitled to receive any benefi t because of a contract made by 
the Group with a KMP or with a fi rm of which a KMP is a member, or with an entity in which the KMP has a substantial interest except on 
terms set out in the governing documents of the Group or as disclosed in this fi nancial report.

The aggregate compensation of KMP of the Group is set out below:

Short-term employee benefi ts
Post-employment benefi ts
Other long-term benefi ts
Termination payments
Share-based payments

Consolidated

2016
$

5,892,717
238,391
104,937
294,531
571,383
7,101,959

2015
$

4,437,482
217,988
(1,046,426)
1,990,034
430,957
6,030,035

Note: Changes to KMP during the year can be found in the Remuneration Report. 

The number of ordinary shares in the Company held during the fi nancial year by KMP of the Company and Group, including their personally 
related parties, are set out in the Remuneration Report in the Directors’ Report. There were no loans made to or other transactions with KMP 
during the year (2015: nil).

b)  Subsidiaries and Associates
Ownership interests in subsidiaries are set out in note 18. Details of interests in associates and distributions received from associates are 
disclosed in note 17. Details of loans due from associates are disclosed in note 10.

c)  Other related party transactions
During the year, Macquarie Group Limited and its controlled entities (“Macquarie”) received or was entitled to receive $5,547,037 
(2015: $10,954,532) as dividends on securities held. 

At 30 June 2016, the Group had nil (2015: $4,573) funds on deposit with Macquarie. The Group earns interest on deposits at commercial 
rates. Interest income from deposits with Macquarie included in the determination of the net result from ordinary activities for the year for the 
Group was $333 (2015: $22,383).

Macquarie ceased to be a related party as at 18 March 2016 following the sale of its 15.7 per cent stake in Southern Cross Media Group.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 75

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

23. Leases and Other Commitments

Capital commitments
Commitments for the acquisition of plant and equipment contracted for at the reporting date but not 
recognised as liabilities are payable as follows:
Within one year

Operating leases
Commitments for minimum lease payments in relation to non-cancellable operating leases are payable as 
follows:
Within one year
Later than one year but not later than fi ve years
Later than fi ve years

Finance lease payment commitments
Finance lease commitments are payable as follows:
Within one year
Later than one year but not later than fi ve years
Later than fi ve years

Less: Future lease fi nance charges

Lease liabilities provided for in the fi nancial statements:
Current
Non-current
Total lease liability

Consolidated

2016
$’000

2015
$’000

2,850
2,850

3,832
3,832

22,457
62,707
31,113
116,277

22,498
72,103
40,807
135,408

144
136
4
284
(23)
261

129
132
261

103
225
4
332
(35)
297

84
213
297

Leases
Leases of property, plant and equipment where the Group, as lessee, has substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership are classifi ed as 
fi nance leases. Finance leases are capitalised at the lease’s inception at the lower of the fair value of the leased property and the present value 
of the minimum lease payments. The corresponding rental obligations, net of fi nance charges, are included in other long-term payables. 

Leases in which a signifi cant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are retained by the lessor are classifi ed as operating leases. 
Payments made under operating leases (net of any incentives received from the lessor) are charged to profi t or loss on a straight-line basis over 
the period of the lease.

The Group sub-leases buildings under an operating lease and rent revenue is recorded as income in the profi t or loss on a straight-line basis.

Rental expense relating to operating leases included in occupancy costs is $25.5 million (2015: $25.3 million).

24. Events Occurring after Balance Sheet Date
Other than matters outlined elsewhere in this report, no matters or circumstances have arisen since the end of the fi nancial year that 
have signifi cantly affected, or may signifi cantly affect, the operations, results of operations or state of affairs of the Group in subsequent 
accounting periods.

76  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

 
25. Other Accounting Policies
Defi ned contribution scheme
The Group operates a defi ned contribution scheme. The defi ned 
contribution scheme comprises fi xed contributions made by the Group 
with the Group’s legal or constructive obligation being limited to 
these contributions. Contributions to the defi ned contribution scheme 
are recognised as an expense as they become payable. Prepaid 
contributions are recognised in the Statement of Financial Position 
as an asset to the extent that a cash refund or a reduction in the 
future payments is available. The defi ned contribution plan expense 
for the year was $13.3 million (2015: $12.6 million) and is included 
in employee expenses.

Derivative fi nancial instruments 
The Group enters into interest rate swap agreements to manage its 
fi nancial risks. Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value at 
the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently 
remeasured to their fair value. The method of recognising the 
resulting gain or loss depends on whether the derivative is designated 
as a hedging instrument and, if so, the nature of the item being 
hedged. The Group may have derivative fi nancial instruments which 
are economic hedges, but do not satisfy the requirements of hedge 
accounting. Gains or losses from changes in fair value of these 
economic hedges are taken through profi t or loss.

If the derivative fi nancial instrument meets the hedge accounting 
requirements, the Group designates the derivatives as either (1) 
hedges of the fair value of recognised assets or liabilities or a fi rm 
commitment (fair value hedge); or (2) hedges of highly probable 
forecast transactions (cash fl ow hedge). The Group documents at 
the inception of the transaction the relationship between hedging 
instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk management 
objective and strategy for undertaking various hedge transactions. 
The Group also documents its assessments, both at hedge 
inception and on an ongoing basis, of whether the derivatives that 
are used in hedging transactions have been and will continue to be 
highly effective in offsetting changes in fair values or cash fl ows 
of hedged items. 

The fair values of over-the-counter derivatives are determined using 
valuation techniques adopted by the Directors with assumptions that 
are based on market conditions existing at each balance sheet date. 
The fair values of interest rate swaps are calculated as the present 
values of the estimated future cash fl ows.

Hedge accounting
The Group designated interest rates swaps held as at 1 July 2011 
as cash fl ow hedges and has applied hedge accounting from this date. 

The Group documents the relationship between hedging instruments 
and hedged items, as well as its risk management objective and 
strategy for undertaking the hedge transactions. The Group also 
documents its assessment, both at hedge inception and on an 
ongoing basis, of whether the derivatives that are used in hedging 
transactions have been and will continue to be highly effective in 
offsetting changes in cash fl ows of hedged items. 

The fair values of derivative fi nancial instruments used for hedging 
purposes are presented within the balance sheet. Movements in the 
hedging reserve are shown within the Statement of Changes in Equity. 
The full fair value of a hedging derivative is classifi ed as a non-
current asset or liability when the remaining maturity of the hedged 
item is more than 12 months; it is classifi ed as a current asset or 
liability when the remaining maturity of the hedged item is less 
than 12 months. 

Cash fl ow hedge 
The effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives that 
are designated and qualify as cash fl ow hedges is recognised in 
other comprehensive income and accumulated in reserves in equity. 
The gain or loss relating to the ineffective portion is recognised 
immediately in the Statement of Comprehensive Income. 

Amounts accumulated in equity are reclassifi ed to profi t or loss in the 
periods when the hedged item affects profi t or loss (for instance when 
the forecast sale that is hedged takes place). The gain or loss relating 
to the effective portion of interest rate swaps hedging variable rate 
borrowings is recognised in profi t or loss within “interest expense and 
other borrowing costs”. When a hedging instrument expires or is sold 
or terminated, or when a hedge no longer meets the criteria for hedge 
accounting, any cumulative gain or loss existing in equity at that time 
remains in equity and is recognised when the forecast transaction is 
ultimately recognised in profi t or loss. When a forecast transaction 
is no longer expected to occur, the cumulative gain or loss that was 
reported in equity is immediately reclassifi ed to profi t or loss.

Fair value estimation
The fair value of fi nancial assets and fi nancial liabilities 
must be estimated for recognition and measurement or for 
disclosure purposes. 

The Group has adopted AASB 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures 
which requires disclosure of fair value measurements by level of the 
following fair value measurement hierarchy:

Level 1 – quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical 
assets or liabilities;

Level 2 – inputs other than quoted prices included within level 1 that 
are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (as prices) or 
indirectly (derived from prices); and

Level 3 – inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on 
observable market data (unobservable inputs).

The fair value of fi nancial instruments that are not traded in an active 
market (for example, unlisted convertible notes) is determined using 
valuation techniques. The Group uses a variety of methods and makes 
assumptions that are based on market conditions existing at each 
balance date. Other techniques, such as estimated discounted cash 
fl ows, are used to determine fair value for the remaining fi nancial 
instruments. The fair value of interest rate swaps is calculated as the 
present value of the estimated future cash fl ows.

The nominal value less estimated credit adjustments of trade 
receivables and payables are assumed to approximate their fair 
values. The fair value of fi nancial liabilities for disclosure purposes 
is estimated by discounting the future contractual cash fl ows at the 
current market interest rate that is available to the Group for similar 
fi nancial instruments.

Impact of new accounting policies
The year end fi nancial statements have been prepared on a basis 
of accounting policies consistent with those applied in the 30 
June 2015 Annual Report. The Group adopted certain accounting 
standards, amendments and interpretations during the fi nancial 
year which did not result in changes in accounting policies nor an 
adjustment to the amounts recognised in the fi nancial statements. 
They also do not signifi cantly affect the disclosures in the Notes to 
the fi nancial statements.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 77

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

25. Other Accounting Policies (continued)
Impact of standards issued but not yet applied 
Certain new accounting standards and interpretations have been published that are not mandatory for 30 June 2016 reporting periods and 
have not been early adopted by the Group. The Group’s assessment of the impact of these new standards and interpretations is set out below:

Impact
The new hedging rules align hedge 
accounting more closely with the 
Group’s risk management practices. 
As a general rule it will be easier 
to apply hedge accounting going 
forward. The new standard also 
introduces expanded disclosure 
requirements and changes in 
presentation. 

As it relates to the other changes 
contemplated by the new accounting 
standard, the Group continues to 
assess the impact on the fi nancial 
statements and at 30 June 2016 
the changes are not expected to 
materially impact the Group.
Management is currently assessing 
the impact of the new rules. At 
this stage, the Group is not able to 
estimate the impact of the new rules 
on the Group’s fi nancial statements. 

Mandatory application date/
Date of adoption by Group
Mandatory for fi nancial years 
commencing on or after 
1 January 2018.

The Group has not yet decided whether 
to adopt AASB 9 early. 

Mandatory for fi nancial years 
commencing on or after 
1 January 2018. 

Expected date of adoption by the 
Group: 1 July 2018.

Title of standard
AASB 9 Financial 
Instruments

AASB 15 Revenue 
from contracts with 
customers

Nature of change
AASB 9 addresses the classifi cation, 
measurement and derecognition 
of fi nancial assets and fi nancial 
liabilities and introduces new rules 
for hedge accounting. 

In December 2014, the AASB made 
further changes to the classifi cation 
and measurement rules and also 
introduced a new impairment 
model. These latest amendments 
now complete the new fi nancial 
instruments standard.

The AASB has issued a new 
standard for the recognition of 
revenue. This will replace AASB 118 
which covers contracts for goods and 
services and AASB 111 which covers 
construction contracts. 

The new standard is based on the 
principle that revenue is recognised 
when control of a good or service 
transfers to a customer – so the 
notion of control replaces the 
existing notion of risks and rewards.

The standard permits a modifi ed 
retrospective approach for the 
adoption. Under this approach 
entities will recognise transitional 
adjustments in retained earnings on 
the date of initial application (e.g. 
1 January 2018), without restating 
the comparative period. They will 
only need to apply the new rules to 
contracts that are not completed as 
of the date of initial application. 

78  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

Title of standard
AASB 16 Leases

Nature of change
The AASB has issued a new 
standard for lease accounting. 
AASB 16 will replace AASB 17.

Mandatory application date/
Date of adoption by Group
Mandatory for fi nancial years 
commencing on or after 1 January 
2019 but available for early adoption. 

Expected date of adoption by the 
Group: 1 July 2019.

Impact
Lessee accounting
 – Lessees are required to recognise 
assets and liabilities for all leases 
with a term of more than 12 
months, unless the underlying 
asset is of low value.

 – A lessee measures right-of-
use assets similarly to other 
non-fi nancial assets and lease 
liabilities similarly to other 
fi nancial liabilities.

 – Assets and liabilities arising from 
a lease are initially measured 
on a present value basis. The 
measurement includes non-
cancellable lease payments 
(including infl ation-linked 
payments), and also includes 
payments to be made in 
optional periods if the lessee is 
reasonably certain to exercise 
an option to extend the lease, 
or not to exercise an option to 
terminate the lease. 

 – AASB 16 includes disclosure 
requirements for lessees. 

Lessor accounting will not change 
signifi cantly.

Management is currently assessing 
the impact of the new rules. At 
this stage, the Group is not able to 
estimate the impact of the new rules 
on the Group’s fi nancial statements. 
The Group will make more detailed 
assessments of the impact over the 
next 12 months.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 79

DIRECTORS’ DECLARATION

FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016

The Directors of the Company declare that:

1.   in the Directors’ opinion, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Company will be able to pay its debts as and when they become 

due and payable; 

2.   in the Directors’ opinion, the fi nancial statements and notes as set out on pages 47 to 79 are in accordance with the 

Corporations Act 2001, including compliance with accounting standards and giving a true and fair view of the fi nancial position and 
performance of the Company and the consolidated entity; and

3.   the Directors have been given the declarations required by section 295A of the Corporations Act 2001.

4.   Note 1(i) confi rms that the fi nancial statements also comply with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International 

Accounting Standards Board.

Signed in accordance with a resolution of the Directors made pursuant to section 295(5) of the Corporations Act.

On behalf of the Directors

Peter Bush 
Chairman 

Sydney, Australia 
25 August 2016 

Leon Pasternak
Deputy Chairman

Sydney, Australia
25 August 2016

80  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS
OF SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Southern Cross Media Group Limited

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Southern 
Cross Media Group Limited

 Report on the fi nancial report
 We have audited the accompanying fi nancial report of Southern Cross Media Group Limited (the company), which 
comprises the statement of fi nancial position as at 30 June 2016, the statement of comprehensive income, 
statement of changes in equity and statement of cash fl ows for the year ended on that date, a summary of 
signifi cant accounting policies, other explanatory notes and the directors’ declaration for Southern Cross Austereo 
(the consolidated entity). The consolidated entity comprises the company and the entities it controlled at year’s end 
or from time to time during the fi nancial year.

Report on the financial report
We have audited the accompanying financial report of Southern Cross Media Group Limited (the 
company), which comprises the statement of financial position as at 30 June 2015, the statement of 
comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows for the year ended
on that date, a summary of significant accounting policies, other explanatory notes and the directors’ 
declaration for Southern Cross Austereo (the consolidated entity).  The consolidated entity comprises 
the company and the entities it controlled at year’s end or from time to time during the financial year.

 Directors’ responsibility for the fi nancial report
 The directors of the company are responsible for the preparation of the fi nancial report that gives a true and fair 
view in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Act 2001 and for such internal 
control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of the fi nancial report that is free from 
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In Note 1, the directors also state, in accordance with 
Accounting Standard AASB 101 Presentation of Financial Statements, that the fi nancial statements comply with 
International Financial Reporting Standards.

Directors’ responsibility for the financial report
The directors of the company are responsible for the preparation of the financial report that gives a 
true and fair view in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Act 2001
and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of the 
financial report that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.  In Note 1, the
directors also state, in accordance with Accounting Standard AASB 101 Presentation of Financial 
Statements, that the financial statements comply with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Auditor’s responsibility
 Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the fi nancial report based on our audit. We conducted our audit 
in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. Those standards require that we comply with relevant ethical 
requirements relating to audit engagements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether 
the fi nancial report is free from material misstatement.

Auditor’s responsibility
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial report based on our audit.  We conducted 
our audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards.  Those standards require that we comply 
with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements and plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial report is free from material misstatement.

 An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the 
fi nancial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, including the assessment of the risks 
of material misstatement of the fi nancial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, 
the auditor considers internal control relevant to the consolidated entity’s preparation and fair presentation of 
the fi nancial report in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for 
the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes 
evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made 
by the directors, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the fi nancial report. 

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures 
in the financial report.  The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, including the
assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error. 
In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the consolidated
entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial report in order to design audit procedures 
that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the 
effectiveness of the entity’s internal control.  An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of 
accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the directors, as well 
as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report.  

 We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is suffi cient and appropriate to provide a basis for 
our audit opinion.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for
our audit opinion.

Independence
 In conducting our audit, we have complied with the independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001.

Independence 
In conducting our audit, we have complied with the independence requirements of the Corporations
Act 2001.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, ABN 52 780 433 757 
Freshwater Place, 2 Southbank Boulevard, SOUTHBANK  VIC  3006, GPO Box 1331, MELBOURNE  VIC  3001
T: 61 3 8603 1000, F: 61 3 8603 1999, www.pwc.com.au  

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 81

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS
OF SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED

 Auditor’s opinion
o
 In our opinion:

Auditor’s opinion
In our opinion:

(a)  the fi nancial report of Southern Cross Media Group Limited is in accordance with the Corporations 

(a)
Act 2001, including:
(i)    giving a true and fair view of the consolidated entity’s fi nancial position as at 30 June 2016 and 

the financial report of Southern Cross Media Group Limited is in accordance with the 
Corporations Act 2001, including:

of its performance for the year ended on that date; and

(i)

giving a true and fair view of the consolidated entity's financial position as at 
(ii)  complying with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Regulations 2001.
30 June 2015 and of its performance for the year ended on that date; and
(b)   the fi nancial report and notes also comply with International Financial Reporting Standards as 
complying with Australian Accounting Standards (including the Australian Accounting 
Interpretations) and the Corporations Regulations 2001. 

disclosed in Note 1 .

(ii)

(b)

the financial report and notes also comply with International Financial Reporting Standards as 
disclosed in Note 1.

Report on the Remuneration Repor t
We have audited the remuneration report included in pages 32 to 44 of the directors’ report for the 
Report on the Remuneration Report
year ended 30 June 2016. The directors of the company are responsible for the preparation and 
We have audited the remuneration report included in pages 21 to 37 of the directors’ report for the
presentation of the remuneration report in accordance with section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001. 
year ended 30 June 2015.  The directors of the company are responsible for the preparation and 
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the remuneration report, based on our audit conducted in 
presentation of the remuneration report in accordance with section 300A of the Corporations Act 
accordance with Australian Auditing Standards .
2001. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the remuneration report, based on our audit
conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards.

Auditor’s opinio n
In our opinion, the remuneration report of Southern Cross Media Group Limited for the year ended 30 
Auditor’s opinion
June 2016 complies with section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001 .
In our opinion, the remuneration report of Southern Cross Media Group Limited for the year ended 
30 June 2015 complies with section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers

tt

Matters relating to the electronic presentation of the audited 
financial report
This auditor’s report relates to the financial report and remuneration report of Southern Cross Media 
Group Limited (the company) for the year ended 30 June 2015 included on Southern Cross Media
Group Limited’s web site.  The company’s directors are responsible for the integrity of Southern Cross 
Media Group Limited’s web site. We have not been engaged to report on the integrity of this web site.
The auditor’s report refers only to the financial report and remuneration report named above.  It does 
not provide an opinion on any other information which may have been hyperlinked to/from the 
financial report or the remuneration report.  If users of this report are concerned with the inherent 
risks arising from electronic data communications they are advised to refer to the hard copy of the 
audited financial report and remuneration report to confirm the information included in the audited 
financial report and remuneration report presented on this web site. 

Sam Lobley    
 Partner    

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Melbourne
25 August 2016

Sam Lobley
Partner 

Melbourne
26 August 2015

82  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

 
  
  
ADDITIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE INFORMATION

The additional stock exchange information set out below was applicable as at 31 August 2016. The Company has only one class of shares, fully 
paid ordinary shares. All holders listed below hold fully paid ordinary shares and each holder has the same voting rights. There are no unlisted 
securities and there is currently no on-market buy-back.

The names of the 20 largest holders of the Company’s quoted equity securities are listed below.

Name

JP Morgan Nominees Australia Limited
HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited
Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited
National Nominees Limited
Nine Entertainment Co Pty Ltd
BNP Paribas Noms Pty Ltd (DRP)
RBC Investor Services Australia Pty Limited (VFA A/C)
BNP Paribas Nominees Pty Ltd (Agency Lending DRP A/C)
HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited-GSCO ECA
Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited (Colonial First State Inv A/C)
Cladela Pty Limited (The Moore Family A/C)
RBC Investor Services Australia Nominees Pty Limited (Bkcust A/C)
AMP Life Limited
HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited (Nt-Comnwlth Super Corp A/C)
RBC Investor Services Australia Nominees Pty Limited (Pi Pooled A/C)
Cladela Pty Limited 
Morgan Stanley Australia Securities (Nominee) Pty Limited (No 1 Account)
Pan Australian Nominees Pty Limited
CS Fourth Nominees Pty Limited (HSBC Cust Nom Au Ltd 11 A/C)
National Nominees Limited (DB A/C)

Analysis of numbers of equity security holders by size of holding:

Range

1 – 1,000
1,001 – 5,000
5,001 – 10,000
10,001 – 100,000
100,001 and over

Holding less than a marketable parcel

Fully Paid
 Ordinary Shares

% of 
Issued Capital

172,186,475
140,716,482
133,981,501
78,248,132
76,795,788
39,601,460
11,977,869
7,559,332
6,842,560
5,982,935
5,382,148
4,513,486
3,983,298
2,180,632
2,144,439
2,140,826
2,039,753
1,944,057
1,651,622
1,376,960
701,249,755

Number of 
Shareholders
858
1,530
822
1,197
102
4,509
432

22.39
18.30
17.42
10.18
9.99
5.15
1.56
0.98
0.89
0.78
0.70
0.59
0.52
0.28
0.28
0.28
0.27
0.25
0.21
0.18
91.19

Fully Paid 
Ordinary Shares
342,493
4,480,401
6,395,445
30,862,110
726,933,156
769,013,605
17,335

Substantial holders in the Company (with holdings as notifi ed to the Company most recently before 31 August 2016) are set out below:

Name

Allan Gray Australia Pty Ltd and its related bodies corporate
Commonwealth Bank of Australia and its related bodies corporate

Securities subject to voluntary escrow are set out below:

Type

Voluntary escrow

Fully Paid 
Ordinary Shares

114,305,479
49,122,603
163,428,082

Date Escrow 
Period Finishes

31 December 2018

% of 
Issued Capital

14.87%
6.38%
21.25%

Fully Paid 
Ordinary Shares

290,336
290,336

Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 83

 
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84  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

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Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report 85

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86  Southern Cross Austereo . Annual Report

CORPORATE 
DIRECTORY

SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED

ABN 91 116 024 536

Company Secretary

Mr Tony Hudson

Registered Offi ce

Level 2

257 Clarendon Street

South Melbourne VIC 3205

+61 3 9252 1019

Share Registry

Computershare Investor Services Pty Limited

Yarra Falls

452 Johnston Street

Abbotsford VIC 3067

The Southern Cross Austereo Annual Report 
2016 is printed on ecoStar which is an 
environmentally responsible paper made 
Carbon Neutral. The greenhouse gas emissions 
of the manufacturing process including 
transportation of the fi nished product to 
BJ Ball Papers Warehouses have been 
measured by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon 
Management (ECCM) and offset by the Carbon 
Neutral Company and the fi bre source has been 
independently certifi ed by the Forest Stewardship 
Council (FSC). ecoStar is manufactured from 
100% Post Consumer Recycled paper in a 
Process Chlorine Free environment under the 
ISO 14001 environmental management system.

Sourcing included within this document: GFK Radio Ratings. Metro- Survey 5 2016. 
Newcastle and Gold Coast- Survey 1 2016. Canberra- Survey 2, 2016. Mon-Sun 5:30-
12mn Cume.] [XTRA Insights. Albury and Hobart- Survey 1 2014. Townsville- Survey 1 
2015. Griffi th, Dubbo, Mt Gambier, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Albany, Kalgoorlie, 
Mackay, Shepparton, Cairns, Toowoomba, Maryborough, Bundaberg West Gippsland, 
Orange and Wagga Wagga- Survey 1 2016. Darwin Central, SGT – TV Advisor. TTL PPL. 
0600-2400. Facebook total page likes + Twitter Followers + Instagram Followers +YouTube 
Subscribers +Ooyala as at 1 Sept 2016. Nielsen Online Ratings – Market Intelligence 
(Domestic) based on monthly average for period Aug 2016 – SCA Network National. 
SCA Steaming Logs - 28 days from 01/08/2016. Podcast listening fi gure removes infl ated 
reporting from repeated download requests via streaming podcast players in an individual 
podcast listen and includes Hamish & Andy. Flurry, App Annie (all-time SCA downloads), 
Nielsen Market Intelligence. Figures for Apr ‘16. 4 AGGS & TAS: Regional TAM. 7.8.16-
3.9.16’. Weekly Cume Reach (1 min) averaged. Sun-Sat 0200-2600. Diary Markets: 
TV Advisor. Darwin, Central, SGT. Sun-Sat 0600-2400.