ITV earnings up 13pc
ITV reported a better than expected 13 per cent rise in adjusted earnings for the year, driven by growth in its own productions against a flat backdrop for advertising.
The broadcaster, home to period drama Downton Abbey, soap-opera Emmerdale and ice-skating show Dancing on Ice, reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of £462M on external revenue up four per cent to £2.14bn.
Chief Executive Adam Crozier said the group was on course to reduce its dependency on advertising revenue, where the market outlook remains poor.
“The increase in non-advertising revenues of 93 million pounds, driven by our studios and online businesses, is clear evidence of progress in rebalancing the company and our ability to grow new revenue streams,” he said on Wednesday.
ITV said it had a better than expected start to the year in terms of advertising across its channels, but it expected advertising revenue for the first quarter to be 2 percent lower than a year ago and broadly flat for April.
“While we remain cautious on the outlook for advertising, we expect to outperform the market over the full year,” it said.