By Simon Zekaria
LONDON--ITV PLC (ITV.LN), a U.K. broadcaster that airs a raft of
popular shows including "The X Factor," said Tuesday it is on track
for another strong full-year performance with revenue growth across
the board, after it reported first-half profit was boosted by its
expanding production business.
"ITV made further strong progress in the first half of the year
as we continued to grow and rebalance the company creatively and
commercially. All parts of the business performed well," said Chief
Executive Adam Crozier.
He said the second half of the year would be boosted by the
broadcaster's exclusive live rights to coverage of the Rugby World
Cup.
Coverage of the rugby tournament, held in the U.K., is a welcome
fillip for ITV, which lost out in a multi-million-dollar fight with
media rival BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) for live rights to the Champions
League--Europe's top club soccer competition.
Mr. Crozier said the inflationary spiral of soccer rights makes
them unjustifiable for an over-the-air broadcaster, which only has
advertising to fall back on in generating funds to spend on
content.
The company, the U.K.'s biggest over-the-air commercial
broadcaster by revenue, said net profit for the six months ended
June 30 rose to 257 million pounds ($400 million) from GBP195
million a year earlier.
Revenue from external sources, a key metric, rose 11% on the
year to GBP1.36 billion. ITV Studios, the company's production arm,
posted a revenue increase of 23% to GBP496 million.
Advertising revenue rose 5% to GBP838 million. ITV said it
expects advertising on its main channels to grow 8% in the third
quarter.
Still, the company's viewing figures fell, with its share of the
U.K. television audience dropping one percentage point to 21.1%.
Mr. Crozier said improving the viewing figures is one of the
company's main aims for the year, adding spending is going into
drama productions.
He also said ITV would continue to participate in the sector's
drive toward consolidation. ITV has acquired a number of production
companies in recent years to bulk up its programming content and
reap lucrative commercial licensing revenue abroad.
On speculation ITV could become a target for a U.S. media giant,
such as Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), Mr. Crozier said there is no reason
ITV couldn't be successful on its own.
The company's board recommended a first-half dividend of 1.9
pence, up 36% from a year earlier.
At 1423 GMT, ITV's shares were up 1.7% at 268 pence, valuing the
company at GBP10.6 billion. Bernstein analyst Claudio Aspesi said
ITV posted a strong set of results, with the firm's commercial and
strategic ambitions helped by the performance of the U.K.
economy.
Write to Simon Zekaria at simon.zekaria@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires