Ulster Television (UTV), saw pre-tax profits for the first six months of this year jump by an impressive 45% to £6.2 million, driven by a strong increase in advertising revenue.
Revenue from television advertising met expectations from January to June 2004, growing by 16% and outperforming the ITV network as a whole, which grew by only 3.8% year-on-year during the period.
The successful re-launch of the group’s Dublin based radio station in quarter one 2002, helped push radio revenues up by 4.8% during the six-month period, as it continues to significantly improve its audience reach and share, says UTV.
Chairman, John McGuckian said: “I am pleased to announce another set of strong financial results with good progress being made across all operating divisions. Television, in particular, continued to significantly outperform peer groups, achieving yet another record share of ITV network revenue.”
In August, UTV launched the ‘UTV Talk’ telecommunications product in a bid to capitalise on the UTV brand in the new media world. The growing popularity of this product, as well as the success of its existing internet and telephone offerings, has helped revenues in the new media division grow by a staggering 56% year-on-year to £2.5 million.
The success of the group looks set to continue in to the third quarter of this year, as advertising revenues are expected to grow by 14% more than last during the next three months, despite the rugby world cup comparisons of last year. Turnover from new media revenue is also expected to continue on the high-note set during the last six months, growing by 30% year-on-year.
In July, Canadian media giant, CanWest, sold its 30% stake in UTV to help reduce bank debt of up to £1.2 billion (see CanWest Sells Ulster TV Share).
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