Stokes blames ‘marauders’ as owners reject pay report
Kerry Stokes used his last annual general meeting as chairman of Seven West Media to rail against “foreign marauders” and an unfair tax system on the group’s dwindling revenues.
Seven West’s total revenue fell four per cent in the last financial year, while the group’s net profit after tax fell from $67 million in the 2024 financial year to $30 million in 2025.
“The past year has been a year of unpredictable and undeniably challenging events typical of an industry that faces constant pressures, regulatory uncertainty and ongoing threats from foreign marauders looking to hunt us down and grab our hearts,” Mr Stokes told shareholders in Sydney.
“There are very public challenges that we face, especially with platforms coming in and stealing our business.”
Shareholders were unimpressed with the outcome and more than 35 per cent voted against the group’s pay report, despite no bonuses being given to executives who failed to meet targets.
Investors were also disappointed that they had not received a dividend in eight years; One of them said the group’s share price had fallen from $5 to 13.5 cents with a five percent dividend at the time of the acquisition, and no cash was refunded today.
“I think the Seven West media treats minority shareholders like my wife and I with disdain and disdain for us,” he said.
The lack of dividends was something the 85-year-old billionaire chairman could relate to.
Mr Stokes told the meeting: “I haven’t had a dividend either, so I sympathize with shareholders and dividends.”
“When you buy one, I’ll buy one too. Promise.”
Mr Stokes said streaming giants such as Netflix and YouTube generated $6 billion in revenue that would otherwise have gone to Australia’s legacy media.
“It went to outside parties that didn’t pay taxes,” he told shareholders.
“This year we’ll probably pay less than $100,000 (in taxes) because we’ve lost profits, because that profit is being taken abroad by people in our country who have no responsibility and don’t pay taxes.”
Chief executive Jeff Howard has reassured shareholders that the group’s planned merger with Southern Cross Media will deliver a greater income stream for shareholders who are not allowed to vote on the deal.
“Our financial goal is to grow the combined revenue base and find more efficient ways to operate in ways we couldn’t do on our own,” he said.
“Each will help increase shareholders’ returns and cash flow.”
On the issue of “foreign marauders”, the group was in talks with the federal government on media bargaining rules and news bargaining incentives to ensure digital platforms contribute to the sustainability of Australian media.
“Whilst discussions with the government have been constructive, we encourage them to accelerate this and other initiatives to ensure the Australian media sector operates on a level playing field with the international platforms that dominate the landscape and control many parts of the value chain,” Mr Howard said.
The Albanian government on Tuesday announced a bill that would allow broadcasters with more than one million subscribers to invest a certain portion of their spending or revenue on new Australian content.
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