Deloitte partner seconded to Sky TV as acting CFO

Deloitte corporate finance partner Andrew Hirst. Photo / File

Deloitte corporate finance partner Andrew Hirst is being seconded to Sky TV as acting chief financial officer, the pay-TV broadcaster said in a statement to the NZX this morning.

"Andrew will continue to work on a limited number of existing Deloitte client projects during the secondment," the statement said.

"Andrew is a highly experienced corporate financial advisor and has previously advised Sky on a number of significant matters including the acquisition of Lightbox and the capital raise in 2020. As a result, Andrew comes into the role very familiar with Sky's business and key investor metrics."

In September, Sky said its then CFO Blair Woodbury - who had been in the position for 15 months - would move to a part-time strategic advisor role.

A flurry of recent changes have also included Sophie Moloney replacing Martin Stewart as chief executive, and the departure of Derek Handley from Sky's board.

Ahead of Christmas, Sky again upped its earnings guidance for 2021 for a second time (see table below), but investors have so far been unmoved.

The company has a big year ahead with the pending launch of Sky Broadband (in partnership with NZX prospect Vocus) and the possible rollout of a new, Android-powered Sky box that will support Netflix and other third-party apps.

Shares were down1.3 per cent to 15.4c as the market opened. The stock is down 60 per cent over the past 12 months.