10th Nov 2021 08:55
(Alliance News) - ITV PLC said Wednesday had an "outstanding" nine months with strong performances from its Studios and Media & Entertainment businesses driving revenue growth.
Shares in the FTSE 100-listed television broadcaster were up 11% in London on Wednesday morning at 121.15 pence each.
Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said: "By any standards ITV has had an outstanding nine months. Both our Studios and Media & Entertainment businesses have performed very strongly. Revenue from each business over the nine months is up both on last year and on 2019. This drove total external revenue up 28% compared to 2020 and 8% higher than 2019."
For the nine months to September 30, revenue was GBP2.79 billion, up 29% from GBP2.17 billion at the same time last year. Total advertising revenue came in at GBP1.36 billion, rising 31% from GBP1.04 billion.
Studios revenue was up 32% to GBP1.19 billion, while M&E revenue was 26% higher at GBP1.59 billion.
Compared to 2019, Studios revenue was up 6% and M&E up 8%.
"We are becoming an increasingly scaled digital business. Our online viewing was up 39% in the nine months which, together with the roll out of Planet V, helped our video on demand advertising revenue to climb 54%. Our monthly active users now stand at 9.6 million, a 22% increase year on year reflecting the focus on our [advertising-based video-on-demand] strategy," McCall continued.
Total viewing hours slipped 5% to 11.6 billion from 12.2 billion, but online viewing hours were 39% higher at 494 million. ITV Hub registered user accounts increased 8.4% to 34.8 million.
As previously guided, ITV expects to propose a final dividend of 3.3p at the full year stage.
Looking ahead, ITV said total advertising revenue for 2021 is expected to be the highest in the company's history. ITV highlighted it has a strong programming slate going into next year as it continues to invest in content and expects total schedule costs to be around GBP1.16 billion in 2022. This includes the FIFA World Cup, the FA Cup and a strong schedule of dramas at ITV Studios which will "drive increased levels of live and streaming viewing".
"With the combination of Broadcast and ITV Hub's mass simultaneous reach, our brand safe addressable advertising product and the strong economy, 2021 looks set to have the highest advertising revenue in ITV's history, despite the lockdown in the first quarter," McCall said.
She added: "Today's results further illustrate that ITV has successfully completed the first phase of its More Than TV strategy and is accelerating the second phase of digital transformation as we evolve our products, user experiences and ways of working."
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
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