ITV has the £400m x-factor for investors

CORONATION Street maker ITV has announced a plan to return £400m to investors via a special dividend after an 18% surge in profits to £865m in 2015.

The broadcaster, which is also behind popular shows such as I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and The X Factor,
reported a 15% increase in revenue to £2.97bn last year, despite a decline in audience share for its flagship TV network.

The company, which has its main northern hub at MediaCity, said it expected to out-perform the television advertising market in 2016, with this summer’s European Football Championship driving growth in the second quarter.

For the full year, it said it again expected to outperform its estimate of the TV ad market.

But the share of viewing achieved by its main ITV channel fell 4 percent in 2015, which it put down to the launch of new digital channels, some shows not performing as well as it had expected and a relatively strong performance from the BBC.

ITV said it would pay a special dividend of 10p a share in addition to a final dividend of 4.1p, which was ahead of previous guidance.​

Chief executive Adam Crozier hailed “another strong year” as all parts of the business performed well.

He added: “As we look to 2016 and beyond we see further significant opportunities for growth across the company organically and through acquisitions and partnerships.

“Reflecting ITV’s ongoing strength and confidence for future growth the Board is proposing a £400m special dividend, equivalent to 10.0p per share. Our strong cash generation and robust financial position gives us the flexibility to invest in growing the business while at the same time delivering returns to our shareholders.”