Ten Network chief executive James Warburton has played down the prospects of an equity raising, saying the company is within its debt covenants with or without the Eye Corp sale.
Ten reported a statutory loss of $12.9 million for the 12 months ended August 31 on Thursday, because of $23.7 million in non-recurring costs, including a $12.3 million write-down of its outdoor advertising business, Eye Corp.
Investors and analysts were focused on Ten’s balance sheet. The company’s net debt shrank to $263 million from $416 million at the same time last year.
Despite the fall in debt, the company is riding close to its covenants. Drawn debt accounted for 3.8-times EBITDA, up from 2.5-times last year. Ten’s covenant limit is 4-times.
Its interest cover was 3.2-times, within the covenant level of greater than 3-times.
“If we needed to capital raise, we would have announced (it today),” Warburton said.
Warburton confirmed Ten was still in talks to sell its Eye Corp outdoor advertising division to CHAMP Private Equity, which could be used to help reduce debt.
Ten had an agreement to sell Eye Corp for $145 million. The agreement was terminated on Wednesday morning.