ITV share price underperforms as broadcaster flags flat Q1 revenue

Overall, ITV posted a 2015 adjusted pre-tax profit of $1.18 billion (£843 million), up 18 percent from 2014.

The biggest growth came from producer ITV Studios, which saw a 33% boost in revenue to £1.28 billion ($1.8 billion). Plus, over the full year, the company said “we expect to outperform the television advertising market”.

As for non-TV advertising, including production, online and sponsorship there was a 25 per cent growth to £1.66bn. The board also proposed a £400m special dividend, equivalent to 10.0p per share due to the “strong cash generation and robust financial position” which offers the business the flexibility to invest in growing the business and delivering returns to investors.

Chief executive Adam Crozier said: “ITV delivered another strong year as we continue to grow and strengthen the business in the United Kingdom and internationally”.

ITV said that while the broadcast increases represented “good growth”, it was becoming “increasingly hard to measure the pure spot advertising market as all broadcasters use different definitions, which may include additional sources of revenue such as sponsorship and VOD in their estimates of television advertising”. Get Me Out Of Here!, The Chase, Hell’s Kitchen and Saturday Night Takeaway. Continuing to deliver this scale and reach, as well as further strengthening our onscreen performance, remains a key focus for the company and particularly for the new creative leadership in the broadcast business.

But he added that the company expect the second quarter to be stronger as it benefits from its rights to Euro 2016.

However, Crozier, who has overseen the acquisition of UTV, Talpa Media, TwoFour Group and Leftfield Entertainment among others since becoming ITV CEO in 2010, told investors on an earnings call he did not “think of [ITV] as a takeover target”.

“Taking this into account, ITV fits the bill having bought numerous content production companies”.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, ITV was bullish about its prospects, with revenues from ITV Studios and its online and digital division expected to grow by double-digit percentages. “It would also give BT a free to air platform to promote its paid for BT TV service”.