Profit Soars at ITV

LONDON: Beating analysts expectations, ITV’s full-year adjusted pre-tax profit soared from £108 million to £321 million, on revenues that were up 10 percent to £2.1 billion.

"Last year we set out a comprehensive five year plan for the transformation of ITV," said Adam Crozier, chief executive. "In this first phase, our outperformance of the television advertising market, together with the actions taken to reduce the group’s cost base and the focus on cash generation, have delivered substantial debt reduction and a sound financial platform for the challenges ahead. But whilst the recovery in television advertising is clearly very helpful, it also serves to remind us just how volatile this market can be. That is why we remain fully focused on delivering our five year Transformation Plan to ensure that we have a more balanced and robust business going forward."

He continued, “Our objective is to continue to outperform the TV advertising market, to invest in technology and our online capability, as well as our content business through the creative renewal of ITV Studios. We remain committed to our strategy of creating great content, delivering and exploiting it across multiple platforms and selling it internationally. We’re still in the first phase of our transformation and making good progress, with a real momentum for change being built up within ITV. We have a new, talented top team in place and around a third of the wider leadership team has changed over the last few months. The organization is becoming leaner and a further £15 million of overhead and cost reduction is expected to be delivered this year. We remain cautious, and will continue to plan prudently, in terms of the economic outlook and its impact on the TV advertising market."

Broadcasting & Online revenues rose to £1.8 billion, with an adjusted profit of £327 million. At ITV Studios, however, revenues fell to £239 million as a result of lower international production revenue. The division’s profits fell by £10 million to £81 million.