Viewing figures down but profits up at ITV

He continued: “All parts of the business performed well with external revenue up 11% to £1.36bn and we delivered another period of double digit profit growth up 24% to £400m”.

It adds: “The business remains highly cash generative and profit to cash conversion was 97% over the first half, even after we increased our investment in scripted drama”. These core channels consist of ITV, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV, ITV Breakfast, CITV Breakfast and all associated time delayed and high-definition channels, grouped together as “ITV Family”. For the whole year it expects to outperform the market over the full year.

“We continue to grow non advertising revenue with Online, Pay & Interactive revenue up 27% and ITV Studios revenue up 23%, driven by organic growth and through our acquired businesses”, said chief executive, Adam Crozier. The company’s shares have risen by a third in the past 12 months. Combined with further improvements to ITV Player, this helped drive a 29 percent jump in long-form video requests and significant growth in online revenue.

The company expects its share of viewing to increase in the second half of the year on the back of exclusive rights to events including the Rugby World Cup and a range of dramas including Jekyll & Hyde starring Richard E Grant and Natalie Gumede.

Interactive revenues were broadly flat due to a fall in telephone voting for entertainment programmes such as the X Factor, but ITV said voting on programme apps was growing strongly.

Ratings for its major soap operas Coronation Street and Emmerdale have also fallen, and ITV is investing in these shows. While the rugby will strenghten Setpember and October, ITV enters the football season without Champions League on its sporting calendar, having lost rights to BT. Crozier noted the underperformance of Champion’s League as a contributing factor to falling share of viewing in sports, indicating that audiences have been dwindling as English clubs have not been doing as well.

Broadcaster ITV has reported profits are up by 25 per cent.