TVNZ will be rewarding its staff with a $2000 cheque for their contribution to the company over the last year.<\/p>\n
The bonus will only go to all permanent staff who don’t have an incentive scheme as part of their role.<\/p>\n
“The global pandemic challenged most aspects of our business last year, and I would like to acknowledge and thank our people for their commitment to delivering such an encouraging result,” said chief executive Kevin Kenrick.<\/p>\n
The financial statements released today did not provide details on the bonuses paid to staff signed up to incentive schemes.<\/p>\n
“That information will be released as part of an annual report in September this year,” Kenrick told the Herald.<\/p>\n
The company reported a net profit of $59.2 million for the year ended June 30, a significant turnaround from the $25.8 loss a year earlier.<\/p>\n
The loss last year was attributed to the company’s investment in more online and local content as it shifted its strategy to a streaming future as well as a $22.6m onerous contract impairment (which was essentially a write-down on the value of content rights bought pre-Covid, which we expected to bring in less revenue).<\/p>\n
“Last year we had to write off the value of some content, but this year we’ve seen a reversal of that provision,” says Kenrick.<\/p>\n
“So there was a bit of an inflation in costs last year and an offset this year.”<\/p>\n
Total advertising revenue this year was $322.2 million, $35.9 million more than the $286m in the previous year.<\/p>\n
Kenrick said strong audience numbers, driven by the America’s Cup and local content had played a big role in the lift in revenue.<\/p>\n
TVNZ OnDemand also saw a 44 per cent increase in revenue and now accounts for “a double-digit contribution” to the broadcaster’s overall revenue mix.<\/p>\n
TVNZ’s operating expenses for the financial year came in at $253m, down more than $67m from the $320m last year.<\/p>\n
There were two contributing factors to this, according to Kenrick.<\/p>\n
Firstly, the impact of Covid-19 has led to reduced supply of international content as productions were delayed or cancelled.<\/p>\n
“We were unable to buy as much content as we would have liked to acquire,” he said.<\/p>\n
The second factor was a restructure of the business in response to the impact of Covid-19. This led to numerous redundancies across the business.<\/p>\n
Asked how many staff TVNZ employs today compared to a year ago, Kenrick said the broadcaster “ended up the year with pretty much the same number as we started”.<\/p>\n
“As the business recovered, we’ve added back roles. In some cases we’ve been able to bring back the same people and in others, we’ve brought on new people.”<\/p>\n
The strong result also means TVNZ will pay a $15m dividend to the Government, after suspending it for a number of years.<\/p>\n
Kenrick said that while the board is confident that it has sufficient funds available to pay this dividend, it would be keeping an eye on the impact of Covid-19 in its consideration of paying an interim dividend in the next financial year.<\/p>\n
As part of its results announcement, TVNZ reiterated that it had paid back the $4.9m wage subsidy it received and that it no longer had the need to draw on the $30 million lifeline that had been negotiated with the Crown in 2020.<\/p>\n
TVNZ’s result comes amid ongoing speculation about the future of the business, given the prospect of a potential merger between the television broadcaster and RNX.<\/p>\n
“We understand that Minister Faafoi is looking at taking a recommendation to Cabinet in October, so we’re expecting to hear from Cabinet well before the end of this year,” Kenrick said.<\/p>\n
“At that stage, we’ll be in a better position to comment on it. It’s difficult to comment on something that’s not clear. There’s not much value in doing that, when we expect that clarity to come within a matter of weeks.”<\/p>\n