13th Dec 2007 07:00
ITV PLC13 December 2007 13 December 2007 ITV plc - trading update for twelve months ending 31 December 2007 ITV Turnaround Plan on track 2007 performance in line with expectations • Net Advertising Revenue has stabilised - ITV family NAR down 0.6% (versus 8.4% fall in 2006) - ITV1 NAR down 4.4% (vs 12.4% fall in 2006) - ITV digital channels NAR increased by approximately 32% to £209m • ITV viewing performance has improved - Volume of commercial impacts up 3.1% across all ITV channels - ITV1 volume of commercial impacts up 1.0% and ITV2 impacts up 21.8% - ITV1 share of commercial impacts down 3.3% (vs decline of over 10% in 2006) • Continuing focus on controlling costs and efficiency - Disposals in 2007 have yielded £103 million - On track to deliver planned £40 million efficiency savings by 2008 - 2007 programme investment maintained at approximately £1billion Executive Chairman of ITV plc, Michael Grade said: "ITV plc has made measurable progress during the course of 2007. On-screenITV1's performance has been much improved; we have assembled a formidable seniormanagement team; and we've seen real growth in the whole television advertisingmarket over the second half of the year. "ITV is finishing 2007 strongly. ITV1 NAR in November was 2% up year on yearand, with late money still entering the market, estimates for December continueto improve. Over the second half of 2007 we expect ITV1 NAR to be flat year onyear, with NAR across all ITV's channels up 3.5%, and we can see no evidence ofadvertiser demand weakening. "Our focus for 2008 is on implementing the turnaround plan set out in Septemberand maintaining the positive momentum in ITV1's viewing performance." Progress on Turnaround Plan Broadcasting ITV estimates that the total UK TV advertising market is up over 6% across thesecond half of 2007 and over the full year has grown by around 3%. ITV1 has remained the UK's most popular channel in peak time with 25.4% of totalpeak viewing, well ahead of it nearest commercial competitor. In terms of alltime viewing, ITV1 has held share year on year in analogue terrestrial andmultichannel homes. Whilst the continuing transition to digital resulted in amodest decline in overall ITV1 viewing share, ITV1 outperformed its two majorcommercial competitors. ITV has continued to build viewing to its digital channels. In September 2007,ITV2 beat Channel 5 for 16-34s viewing in multi-channel homes for a fullcalendar month for the first time. In October ITV published the Findings of the Deloitte Review and ITVInvestigation into premium rate services (PRS) within ITV programmes. Theresults of any ongoing Ofcom investigation into ITV's PRS activities areexpected in the New Year. Content Dawn Airey joined ITV plc as Managing Director of Global Content in October andis putting in place a senior team to lead the integrated global contentdivision, incorporating international and domestic production and distribution. On December 5th, ITV plc announced the acquisition of 12 Yard Productions, aproducer of programmes for UK and international broadcasters, with its ownformats including In It to Win It, Eggheads and Who Dares Wins. ITV can confirmthat 12 Yard has secured a major commission from the BBC for over 300 furtherepisodes of Eggheads. Online In November itv.com attracted 6 million unique users (an increase of around 60%since the site's relaunch) and achieved 88 million page impressions.itvlocal.com attracted 750,000 unique users in November. In November ITV announced a broadband joint venture with the BBC and C4 tocomplement itv.com. The planned service will include archive programming fromthe UK's three main broadcasters and ITV's share of revenues will contribute toits 2010 online revenue target. Friends Reunited has continued to build its revenues. ITV is exploring means ofintroducing a greater proportion of advertising funded content to the site inorder to maximise its value over the long-term. Notes: 1. ITV plc's 2007 full year results will be announced on 5th March 2008. 2. All figures for net advertising revenue are based on ITV plc's currentforecasts for the full financial year (and compared to the full 2006 financialyear) 3. All figures for viewing and commercial impacts are based on BARB/Infosysdata for adult impacts and individuals viewing for the year to 2nd December (andthe equivalent period in 2006). 4. ITV family includes: ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV, GMTV1, GMTV2 and Men&Motors. 5. ITV digital channels include: ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV, GMTV2 and Men&Motors. For further enquiries please contact: ITV plc Tel: 0844 8818000 Press queries Mark Gallagher - Group Director of Corporate Affairs Jim Godfrey - Director of Corporate Affairs Tel: 084488 18434 Investor queries James Tibbitts - Company Secretary Tel: 084488 15656 Christy Swords - Director of Investor Relations Tel: 084488 15651 Pippa Strong - Head of Investor Relations Tel: 0844 8814767 Tulchan Communications Group Tel: 020 7353 4200 Andrew Grant Susanna Voyle David Allchurch Website: www.itv.com, investor information: www.itvplc.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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