BBCWW Revenues Top £1 Billion

LONDON: For the year ended March 31, 2009, BBC Worldwide reported revenues of £1 billion, reflecting a 9.5-percent increase, with an operating profit of £102.6 million, down 12.8 percent, while profit before interest and tax fell from £117.7 million to £85.7 million.

The profit decline was attributed to organic investment and two exceptional items in particular: a write-down associated with Kangaroo, the proposed online video service with ITV and Channel 4, and a one-time charge related to 2 entertain, the DVD distribution joint venture with Woolworths Group.

Channels revenues were up 23 percent to £225.6 million, while profit more than doubled to £29.6 million. Content and production revenues gained 19 percent to £88.2 million, delivering a profit of £16.7 million, a 4-percent gain. Digital media revenues gained 56 percent to £34.2 million, but the segment recorded a loss of £22.8 million, up from the year-ago loss of £10.9 million. Sales and distribution revenues, meanwhile, fell 8 percent to £195.3 million, with profit down 6 percent to £43.7 million. Magazines, children’s & licensing reported a profit of £13.2 million, a 71-percent gain, on revenues that were up 3 percent to £210.2 million. Home entertainment revenues were £207.1 million, a 5-percent increase, while profits fell 33 percent to £31.8 million. The global brands segment reported revenues of £43 million, 86-percent higher than last year, while its loss tripled to £9.6 million.

BBC Worldwide delivered increased dividend payments to the BBC of £68.8 million, up from £49.4 million. That, combined with increased direct investment in BBC programming and rights, helped lift the overall return to the corporation by around 20 percent to more than £170 million. Mark Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, commented: “BBC Worldwide has shown once again what a huge contribution it makes to the entire BBC, with its dividends and overall returns strengthening our ability to reinvest in world class content across multiple platforms—enjoyed by audiences at home and around the globe."

The BBC’s commercial arm also increased its share of revenue generated outside of the U.K. to 48.6 percent to 51.3 percent, with the view to reaching 66.6 percent by 2012. Revenues from online activities almost doubled from 2.7 percent to 4.6 percent; BBC Worldwide aims to reach 10 percent in the next three years. 

“BBC Worldwide demonstrated the depth of its businesses and its financial strength in a difficult year for the entire industry by lifting revenues beyond a billion pounds, and we substantially increased our returns to the BBC,” said John Smith, the chief executive of BBC Worldwide. “In spite of volatile conditions and heavy investment in several parts of the business, we remain encouraged by the growth prospects and performance of our core operations and brands around the world.”

He continued: “We have continued to trade strongly in spite of some challenging market conditions. Our strategy of diversification across business areas and territories, and our continuing investment in new opportunities, especially digital, reflects our confidence in the outlook for BBC Worldwide although trading conditions are likely to remain volatile for the rest of this year and into 2010.”