ITV revenues rise but it warns that uncertainty remains

BROADCASTER ITV has reported a 6% increase in group revenues for its first quarter, but warned the market outlook remained “highly uncertain” for the second quarter.

ITV, which owns Granada in Manchester and has scaled back its former Yorkshire TV operations in Leeds, saw group revenues hit £450m for the three months to the end of March, up from £425m a year earlier.

Broadcasting and online revenues were up 6% to £390m, while  ITV Studios external revenues increased 7% to £60m, with internal production revenues down to £73m (2009: £75m).

ITV television advertising revenues increased 8% in the first quarter and the group is forecasting they will increase by 22% in the second quarter.

However ITV issued a cautious warning that advertising revenue growth for the first half should be seen in the context of declines of 15% for the equivalent period in 2009 and also the impact of the World Cup. 

“Into the second half, the year-on-year comparators are more challenging and the UK advertising market is also highly exposed to the uncertain economic outlook post-election,” it added in the interim statement ahead of today’s annual general meeting.

Adam Crozier, chief executive of ITV, said: “ITV’s financial performance over the first quarter reflects growth in UK television advertising following last year’s record declines. 

Over two years, revenues are still tracking below 2008 levels. The outlook for the latter part of 2010 and early 2011 is tough with more testing year-on-year comparators and uncertain market conditions post-election. Given also the long-term challenges facing the free-to-air market, change remains an imperative at ITV and we are focused on driving the transformation of the business over the next three to five years.”