BBC Worldwide made record pre-tax profits of £111.1 million in the 12 months to March 31, with the proportion of sales to outside the UK up by 5% year on year to 46%.
Investment in BBC-commissioned programmes was also up at £96.3 million from £89.0 million in 2005/06, with total programme investment at £103.6 million.
John Smith, chief executive of BBC Worldwide, said: “BBC Worldwide has achieved a three-fold increase in profits in the last three years. We have exceeded expectations in most of our businesses over the past 12 months, reflecting healthy returns from our new channels business, strong TV catalogue sales and growing demand internationally for BBC formats. We are now investing to build our digital offering and strengthen our position in markets such as the US, China, India and Australia, creating one of the world’s premier content networks.”
Etienne de Villiers, non-executive chairman, BBC Worldwide, said: “BBC Worldwide has reached a watershed. It has proven capable of delivering against a demanding business plan with commercial efficiency; it now is poised to grow significantly with new product lines and in exciting markets.”
Mark Thompson, director-general of the BBC, commented: “BBC Worldwide continues to deliver excellent returns for licence payers from the content they help fund us to make. Its success is increasingly critical to our ability to invest in original creative programming for audiences in the UK, and the company is playing major part in taking those programmes out to the rest of the world.”
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