BBC Worldwide Profits Up 8 Percent

LONDON: BBC Worldwide’s revenues for the year ended March 31, 2012, gained 5 percent to £1.085 billion, with profit up 8 percent to £155 million and a total return to the pubcaster of a record £216 million.

The figures in the Annual Review for 2011/12 exclude the BBC Magazine business, the sale of which brought in £121 million. The overall return of £216 million to the BBC was up by 19 percent.

John Smith, the chief executive of BBC Worldwide, commented, “By offering world-class British programming and brands that resonate with global audiences, we were able to lift headline sales beyond a billion pounds for a fourth year in succession and deliver impressive results.”

He continued, “We are proud of the record financial contribution we made to the BBC in addition to our role in championing U.K. shows, brands and talent around the world. These results have enabled BBC Worldwide to return £216 million to the BBC, supporting development of world-class, original content in the context of a tighter licence fee. BBC Worldwide also distributed programs and formats produced by more than 200 UK independent producers in the year.  I am proud of the unique role we play in helping our sectors of the U.K. creative industries to expand through exports.”

Smith pointed to the gains made across all five of BBC Worldwide’s strategic objectives. On driving digital growth, Smith noted, “With sales from digital activities now at 13 percent of total net sales, we are aiming to meet a new target of 15 percent by 2015.”

BBC Worldwide has also set out to become more international, with revenues outside of the U.K. now accounting for 64 percent of the total, up from 56 percent. "We have focused in particular on the English-speaking markets of the USA and Australia, which were our biggest growth markets in 2011/12, delivering growth of 15 percent and 9 percent respectively. In June 2012, BBC Worldwide announced a reorganization that will further increase its focus on international markets, enabling it to capture future growth opportunities around the world.”

The commercial arm of the British broadcaster is also working on expanding the scale of its branded channels business and developing more direct connections with consumers. It has also made increasing investments in content a priority. “Core to our mission is delivering high-quality distinctive programming to audiences around the world and we invested £99 million in distribution rights for great content during the year. BBC IP is the cornerstone of our content strategy and forms the vast amount of investments we make. However given the needs of the different markets we serve, we also commission and invest in bespoke local programming and some of the best U.K. productions from other broadcasters.”

The channels business delivered revenues of £345 million, a 14 percent gain, with a profit of £42 million, a 10-percent increase. Sales and distribution, BBC Worldwide’s largest profit center, benefited from top-selling shows like Top Gear, Doctor Who, Frozen Planet, Torchwood, Spooks, Sherlock, Planet Earth and Natural World. The segment posted a profit of £72 million on revenues of £293 million. Consumer product revenues were £211 million, a 16-percent decline on the year-ago results. The global brands segment reported revenues of £321 million, a 4 percent gain. Content and production revenues were up by 32 percent to £136 million, largely as a result of its U.S. business, with profit up 33 percent to £11 million.