Source: Sydney Morning Herald

CANWEST's chief executive, Leonard Asper, dismissed speculation that the Canadian company may revisit plans to sell Network Ten after the Australian broadcaster slashed its dividend and shelved a share buyback because of lower ratings and the advertising downturn.

"We're not actively looking to do anything with Ten other than to continue to grow its profits," Mr Asper told the Herald after attending Ten's annual shareholder meeting in Sydney yesterday. He said CanWest had "moved on" since it shelved a sale of the network last year.

"We've looked around the world and we've owned assets around the world and Ten is a great business," he said, adding that he "wouldn't change a thing" in how it is managed, other than step up its efforts in digital media and online.

Reports that the company would have to sell its 56 per cent stake to reduce debt were misplaced, he said, stressing that most of its $C3.7 billion ($4.4 billion) borrowings were held non-recourse.

Concern about CanWest's debt has sent its stock down 93 per cent this year. "The market is absolutely paranoid about debt," Mr Asper said, declining to comment on whether the battered share price was an opportunity for him to take CanWest private and avoid investor scrutiny.

Mr Asper will stay in Sydney until the weekend, catching up with media industry figures, including Lachlan Murdoch and Ryan Stokes, in what he said were purely social meetings.

Ten's shares fell below $1 yesterday after it said it would pay an interim dividend of 2c a share, down 80 per cent from last year. The stock rallied to close 3.5c down to $1.01.

The broadcaster also scrapped plans announced in July to buy back up to 10 per cent of its stock. It had acquired only 2.3 million shares, with no further purchases since August as the downturn in the economy and advertising markets accelerated and Ten's ratings deteriorated.

Operating earnings in the three months to November fell 25.2 per cent to $91.6 million, as revenues at Channel Ten fell 12 per cent.

"The revenue market continues to be challenging and visibility remains short across the sector," the executive chairman, Nick Falloon, told shareholders. He said that after the Beijing Olympics - broadcast by Seven - Ten struggled to get traction with new programs and "there were a few shows that didn't meet our expectations".

Ten would not give a profit forecast for the year but pledged to keep costs flat despite investments in new programs and its high-definition sports channel One, which it plans to launch in March.

Mr Falloon, who earned $5.81 million last year, went part-time in September, accounting for some savings, together with an undisclosed number of staff cuts and other savings across the company.

© Sydney Morning Herald