Ulster Profits Up 25%

Growth in advertising revenue helped push Ulster Television pre-tax profits up by 25% in the six months to the end of June to £2.45m. Advertising revenue was up by 16.1% to £14.1m, a rate of growth more than double that achieved by the ITV system as a whole. The Ulster chairman, John McGuckian, said that the growth was influenced by a share of viewing that is the highest of any television channel in the UK, and the fact that consumer expenditure in the recession has held up better in Northern Ireland than in the rest of the UK.