Kate Bulkley, Media Analyst.

RDF steels itself with £2m in cost savings

By Kate Bulkley

Broadcast News

For Broadcast February 18, 2009

Oz and James Drink to Britain

RDF Media has kicked off a pre-emptive drive to make £2m of cost savings.

Chief executive David Frank has told the super-indie's managers to cut overheads by 5% in the financial year beginning 1 February and has put a pay freeze in place across the group that will affect all 500 employees.

The measures are meant to strengthen RDF as the industry faces an increasingly difficult trading environment. The 5% overhead cut should yield savings of £1.5m this year, while the wage freeze, which begins on 1 March, will save up to £500,000.

"'Prudent' is the right word to use," says Frank. "We are not responding to a crisis in the company and our business is not led by the treasury department. These cuts are to ensure that our overall trading position remains favourable."

The overhead cuts will be across the board and will include everything from travel and entertainment cuts to job losses, although Frank would not specify how many staff would leave. "There will be a few, not many," he said.

Frank added: "The perception is that everything is getting a lot tougher, but the reality right now is that our trading position is improving. I am still confident that we may be pleasantly surprised and that as a result of these savings we will be significantly more profitable at the end of the year than we might have been."

Analysts expect RDF's revenue to be £150 million in the year ended Jann 2009, up from £120m the previous year.

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