Southern Cross profit halves: The cost of the royal prank?

Southern Cross Austereo today announced its profits halved in the first half of the financial year to $45.1 million.

The company’s CFO Steve Kelly said the royal hoax cost Southern Cross Austereo millions of dollars.

The company owns 2DayFM. In December, two of its presenters convinced a British nurse to transfer them to the bedside of the Duchess of Cambridge by pretending to be members of the royal family. The nurse who transferred the call later commited suicide.

“The $2.2 million on the revenue line is really revenue that was cancelled from the schedule, not lost opportunity, and the $1.4 million in expenses is largely made up of legal costs and the amount that we have reserved for the family,” he said.

Nonetheless, the company’s share price rose nearly 10% yesterday to $1.345.