Interim Results
ITV PLC
08 August 2007
ITV plc interim results for six months ended 30 June 2007
8 August 2007
ITV1 schedule performance stabilising
Q3 advertising revenue encouraging
Financial summary
• ITV1 NAR £595m (2006: £654m) and total NAR £717m (2006: £752m)
• Operating EBITA* £151m (2006: £202m)
• Adjusted EPS# 2.3 pence (2006: 3.3 pence)
• Interim dividend maintained at 1.35 pence
• Net debt reduced by £66m to £668m
* before exceptional items
# before exceptional items, amortisation, sales of assets and businesses and
with tax adjustments
ITV Board
Agnes Touraine and Heather Killen join ITV as non-executive directors. They
have significant knowledge of the media industry and career experience with
Vivendi Universal and Yahoo respectively.
Current trading
• Q3 advertising revenue estimates
o ITV1 plc NAR +1%
o ITV total NAR +4%
• Summer ratings improving.
• ITV1 adult impacts year on year from 1 January to 29 July
o Volume up 0.6%
o SOCI down 4.8%
• In multichannel homes total ITV all time individual viewing share year on
year from 1 January to 29 July up 0.7% at 21.8%
Operating summary
Stabilisation of ITV1
• H1 adult impact volume down by 2.1% whilst adult SOCI is down by 5.8%
(compared to -5.4% and -9.0% for same period last year, despite growth
in number of digital channels)
• Key FA Cup, and England internationals secured from 2008
• UK's most popular programme (Coronation Street, 15 January) and most popular
sporting event (UEFA Champions' League semi-final, 23 May)
• Britain's Got Talent final watched by 11.6m viewers and 45% share - most
popular new format across all channels
Growth of digital channels
• ITV digital channels increasing revenue and impacts - ITV2, 3 & 4 produced:
o 42% of all multichannel revenue growth
o Adult SOCI increased year on year from 5.5% to 6.4% in H1 2007
• ITV2 awarded Digital Channel of the Year and is now most popular digital
entertainment channel in the UK
• ITV digital only channels in multichannel homes had 4.5% individual share of
viewing in H1 compared to all Five's channels at 5.7%
• Acquired both returning and new US hit series.
Exploitation of content
• Dawn Airey appointed Head of Global Content
• Awards success with 10 BAFTAs and 17 RTS Awards across ITV and ITV
Productions
• Acquisition of controlling stake in Jaffe Braunstein and 25% stake in
Mammoth
Development of Consumer businesses
• Broadband-enabled itv.com now live and fully operational, featuring
simulcast ITV channels, a 30 day catch-up, clips and exclusive archive
material
• ITV Local now available to more than 60% of UK population
• Friends Reunited Group H1 revenues up 38%
• Call TV revenues down in H1 following PRTS issues
Commenting on the results Michael Grade, Executive Chairman of ITV, said:
'I'm very pleased with progress in ITV1's schedule performance and the outlook
for revenue in Q3 is encouraging. The launch of the Autumn schedule was well
received with a number of returning hit series and major events including the
Rugby World Cup.
'Our in-house production team has collected an unprecedented number of
nominations and awards for their programmes, both in the UK and internationally.
'Our family of digital channels continues to grow, increasing revenue and
viewers, and the launch of ITV.com has opened a valuable opportunity for us to
compete effectively for online revenues for the first time.
'ITV has been affected by the incidence of editorial and compliance failures
which have affected the television sector. Deloitte are moving towards
completion of their review of our PRTS activity and in October we will publish
the findings of that review and an explanation of remedial actions. We are
co-operating closely with Ofcom and ICSTIS during this process.
'On the general regulatory front we continue to press our case with Ofcom, the
OFT and the Competition Commission.
'We have been carrying out a detailed business review and I will be updating the
market on 12 September.
'The process of refreshing the Board has begun and I am delighted that Agnes
Touraine and Heather Killen have agreed to join ITV as non-executive directors.
With their knowledge of the sector, these very successful individuals bring
extensive and relevant experience in digital and new media: digital talent for
the digital age. They will make a valuable contribution to our Board
discussions.
'John McGrath will retire from the Board at the end of 2007 and I and my Board
colleagues would like to thank him for his significant contribution to ITV,
through the merger process in 2003 and as a Director and Chairman of our Audit
Committee over the last three years. Mike Clasper will take over as Audit
Committee Chairman in due course.'
For further information please contact:
ITV plc
Tel: 0844 88 18000
Press enquiries
Brigitte Trafford Group Communications Director
Jim Godfrey Director of Corporate Affairs
Analysts' enquiries
James Tibbitts Company Secretary
Georgina Blackburn Head of Investor Relations
Tulchan Communications Group
Tel: 020 7353 4200
Andrew Grant
Susanna Voyle
Website: www.itv.com, investor information: www.itvplc.com
An analysts presentation will be held at 09:30hrs on 8th August 2007 at the City
Presentation Centre, 4 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4UP
Message from the Executive Chairman Michael Grade
We are revitalising ITV1 and developing our medium-term strategy for the
business. We will update the market on the progress of that work in the autumn.
We have seen some encouraging early signs of recovery as ITV1's performance
begins to stabilise in the first six months of 2007. Ratings decline has slowed
and the advertising environment continues to improve, as the UK television
advertising market in the first half was essentially flat and is growing in the
third quarter. The adjusted earnings per share before exceptional items,
amortisation and tax adjustments are 2.3 pence for the first half (2006: 3.3
pence).
Your Board has decided that the interim dividend for the half year ended 30 June
2007 should be maintained at 1.35 pence, payable on 7 January 2008 to
shareholders on the register as at 9 November 2007. The ex-dividend date will be
7 November 2007.
We are conducting a detailed business review and, on 12 September, we will be
outlining our plans to develop and grow our business over the medium-term. As I
have previously said, there is no single action that will fix our business, and
our plans are being formed to deliver more consistently for our viewers, our
customers and our shareholders.
Meanwhile, there are two main areas that we have been working on during the
first half of 2007:
(a) Continue the revitalisation of ITV1
ITV1 is the most popular channel in peak time and the UK's most powerful
marketing vehicle. We are reinvigorating the ITV1 schedule to make it bolder and
more innovative with the aim of bringing back lighter viewers, and continuing to
deliver mass audiences and key demographics for our advertisers.
ITV1 has successfully regained audience share in the afternoon; our priority and
focus now is to improve our performance in the important 9.00 pm slot,
particularly mid week.
We've secured long-term relationships with some key on-screen talent, such as
Ant & Dec, Simon Cowell and David Jason. In sport we've strengthened our live
football offering by acquiring the exclusive television and new media rights to
all England home qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, the pick of FA Cup games
from 2008 and the Euro 2008 competition. This autumn we will be showing the
Rugby World Cup exclusively on ITV.
(b) Accelerate the growth of our successful family of digital channels
ITV continues to own the most successful family of commercial channels. ITV2,
ITV3 and ITV4 all rank in the top 10 commercial digital channels in Freeview
homes, with ITV2 and ITV3 taking first and second positions respectively.
We are working to ensure that they continue to grow.
Content and new media
Our programme makers have delivered both ratings and critical successes and we
will be explaining in September how we aim to drive growth in those activities
and leverage our content in our new media businesses.
Reduce the burden of regulation
We continue to seek a regulatory environment that better reflects the 21st
century digital broadcasting market in which we operate. Many of the existing
regulations were devised in an analogue world, where spectrum was scarce and
highly valuable. In our dialogue with regulators, we continue to press for more
appropriate regulation to allow us to compete more freely.
Broadcasting: A Question of Trust
Corporate responsibility is a wide ranging and important area for ITV. Our
broadcasting responsibilities are an area of particular focus which our Board
and management take extremely seriously.
As allegations of irregularities in premium rate telephone service (PRTS)
programming across the industry began to emerge in March we took swift and
decisive action to ensure our viewers could have complete confidence in all our
interactive activity and programming. We immediately withdrew all PRTS elements
of programming from our shows and asked Deloitte to conduct a two-stage,
independent review. The first part was to ensure that all existing PRTS elements
on ITV channels were fully compliant before being reinstated on air. This was
completed in a couple of weeks. The second part was a retrospective review of
the previous two years' output to understand the circumstances of any breaches
in compliance in that time in order to avoid any recurrence. We will be
publishing the findings and recommendations of this review once it is completed.
However, in the past few months a broader series of instances have come to light
in which television programmes have effectively duped the viewers. They have
involved all the major terrestrial broadcasters.
The 'contract of trust' between broadcasters and their audiences is of paramount
importance. That trust is indivisible: straight dealing in entertainment
programmes is just as important as straight dealing in news and current affairs.
It is something the public rightly expects, and remains an essential editorial
principle in the transition to digital broadcasting.
Ensuring good practice has become an increasing challenge with the proliferation
of production companies, the competitive pressures to succeed, the outsourcing
of services, the rapid pace of technological change, and the increasingly
short-term nature of editorial jobs.
We at ITV are establishing a culture of zero tolerance for this apparent and
casual contempt towards viewers. We believe that by taking this zero tolerance
stance, our in-house and external producers and suppliers will understand the
high standards we expect from them and, in turn, the public will know that they
are able to continue to value, enjoy and trust what we broadcast.
ITV People
The process of refreshing the Board has begun and I am delighted that Agnes
Touraine and Heather Killen have agreed to join ITV as non-executive directors.
With their knowledge of the sector, these very successful individuals bring
extensive and relevant experience in digital and new media: digital talent for
the digital age. They will make a valuable contribution to our Board
discussions.
John McGrath will retire from the Board at the end of 2007 and I and my Board
colleagues would like to thank him for his significant contribution to ITV,
through the merger process in 2003 and as a Director and Chairman of our Audit
Committee over the last three years. Mike Clasper will take over as Audit
Committee Chairman in due course.
I am also pleased that we have secured the services of Dawn Airey, who joins us
in October as Director of Global Content, and Carolyn Fairbairn, who joined us
in March as Director of Group Development and Strategy.
Finally, I would like to extend the Board's thanks to all our colleagues for
their contribution to this, my first set of interim results. ITV is a place of
huge opportunity and the progress that we have made in the first half of this
year is just the beginning. I look forward to working with them to reposition
ITV for the future.
Michael Grade
Executive Chairman
Business review
Our market environment
Advertising market trends
The UK television advertising market over the first six months of 2007 recovered
to a similar level as in 2006 and is projected to increase in the third quarter.
After the 8% fall in Q4 2006 total UK television advertising, we estimate that
the first six months of 2007 was down by only 0.3% on the same period in 2006.
The third quarter will show growth of approximately 6%, putting UK advertising
in 2007 ahead of 2006 for the nine months to September.
Internet advertising, principally search-related, has continued to grow
strongly. As broadband video delivery increases we expect to see further
internet video advertising growth and are positioning itv.com and itvlocal.com
to exploit that revenue stream.
Platform growth
In the first quarter of 2007, Ofcom stated that 80% of the growth in UK digital
television homes was accounted for by new Freeview-only homes which reached 8.4
million at 31 March. That exceeded the 8 million UK BSkyB subscribers at that
date. Ofcom also stated that at the end of the first quarter of 2007 81% of UK
homes received digital multichannel television. Freeview has continued its
strong growth through Q2.
Commercial impacts
One commercial impact is defined as one person viewing one 30 second television
advertisement. The number of adult commercial impacts in the UK market place
increased in the first half of 2007 by 4.0%, largely as a result of:
- Increased digital multichannel penetration and the related loss of BBC viewing
share (which does not deliver any commercial impacts) to commercial channels;
- an increasing number of commercial digital chanels; and
- the commercial digital channels having a higher permitted advertising minutage
than ITV1, Channel 4 or five.
Content creation
As well as providing broadcasters in the UK and internationally with a
continuing stream of popular television programming, we are increasingly focused
on the need to develop new online and mobile content to drive our new media
activities. This requires some wholly new content as well as seeking ways to
exploit the opportunities to tailor new media material within our existing
programme brands.
Regulation
The ITV1 statement of programme policy for 2007 was published early in the year.
The statement confirmed changes to ITV1's children's output, following a
dialogue with the regulator Ofcom. ITV1 will broadcast 250 hours of children's
output (including films) in 2007, compared to around 400 hours of children's
programmes on ITV1 in 2006. ITV also confirmed that its children's output would
be weighted to the weekends rather than weekday afternoons as it has been in the
past. Ofcom has launched a wider review of children's programmes, which will
feed into the second Public Service Broadcasting television review, which has
been brought forward and will start later this year.
The future of news - and in particular regional news on ITV1 - is likely to be a
core focus of that review and has been addressed by the regulator in a recent
discussion document. ITV's regional news output is highly valued by our viewers,
but Ofcom concluded that regional news on ITV1 will not be sustainable in the
digital age without regulatory reform (in the form of changes to regional
services, advertising rule reform, or even public subsidy). We hope to find a
commercially viable and timely solution that will enable us to continue
providing regional news to switchover and beyond.
Following reviews by the OFT and Ofcom, the Competition Commission is currently
considering competition and public interest issues in connection with BSkyB's
17.9% holding in ITV plc. The Commission is due to report later this year. The
OFT's decision on whether or not to review the Contract Rights Renewal
mechanism, following an application by ITV some months ago, is eagerly awaited.
Resources and relationships
We are recruiting and developing talented people to lead our creative businesses
in a competitive media industry. We have recently received the results of our
annual Employee Opinion Survey (EOS) which highlighted the pride that our
employees take in the work they do: 86% are proud of the work they do for ITV
(88% in 2005). We will continue to monitor this during the year before our next
EOS.
Corporate Responsibility (CR)
During the first half of 2007 our principal on-air initiative was the regional '
Climate Change - Make a Difference' campaign. This drew greater attention to the
issue and explained how people individually can contribute to benefit the
environment.
In July we launched a search for the 'ITV Carer of the Year' which will
culminate with an award being made at the Pride of Britain Awards in October.
We have also introduced a payroll giving scheme for employees and continue to
seek new ways to integrate CR into our business activities.
Operating review
ITV1
ITV1's schedule recovery gathered pace in the first half of the year. Stability
also began to return to the total television advertising market, as explained
earlier. Of our H1 ITV1 overall advertising revenue, sectors that are performing
well include pharmaceuticals up 9% and telecoms up 5%. Several categories were
affected by the phasing of revenue in H1 2006, which included most of the World
Cup spend; in particular, finance was down 14% and cars and car dealers were
down 15%. Sponsorship revenues are up year-on-year by 9%.
ITV's share of commercial impacts has also begun to stabilise. ITV1 adult
impacts declined in number by 2.1% in the first half as a result of the factors
referred to under Commercial Impacts in the Business Review section on page 3,
and its share of adult commercial impacts therefore declined by 5.8% to 32.2%
from 34.2% in the first half of 2006. This compared to a 9.0% decline in the
first half of 2006.
The growth of ITV's digital channels resulted in ITV's overall share of adult
commercial impacts declining by only 3.3% to 41.5% from 42.9% in the first half
of 2006.
ITV1 enjoyed programme successes in the first six months across a broad range of
genres, including sport, entertainment and soaps with five of the ten top
programmes on any channel broadcast on ITV1 (2006: 7 out of 10).
So far this year, these included Coronation Street, the top programme on any
channel with 13.1 million viewers and a 50% share of viewing, brand new format
Britain's Got Talent which averaged 11.6 million viewers and a 45% share of
viewing on the final night and the UEFA Champions' League semi-final tie between
Liverpool and Chelsea - the most popular sports event of the half year - which
was watched by 9.3 million and had a 40% share of viewing, peaking at 11.9
million viewers during penalties. These successes have helped ITV1 in peak time
beat BBC1, (its nearest competitor for viewing share in peak time), in 24 out of
the 30 weeks so far in 2007 (2006: 25 out of 30).
Six of the ten top drama programmes across all channels were broadcast on ITV1.
Successful titles are a blend of our long-running classics Coronation Street and
Emmerdale with more recent favourites Wild at Heart, with a series peak of 9.0
million viewers (35% share of viewing), and Kingdom with a series peak of 8.6
million viewers (35% share of viewing).
ITV1 also had success in launching new shows and formats, with 15 new programmes
achieving audiences of over five million - more than any other UK broadcaster. A
number of these are being recommissioned, including Kingdom, Benidorm, Saturday
evening family drama series Primeval and Britain's Got Talent.
Against these successful shows we had a few poor performances including: Tycoon,
Tough Gig and the 24 Hours With.... series.
ITV1 is also the only terrestrial channel to gain audience year-on-year in
Daytime, with its viewing share up by 10% to 16.1%. This is in part due to the
success of new formats such as our new afternoon gameshow, Golden Balls, which
attracted 2.0 million viewers on 25 June and in part to more popular programming
replacing some children's output.
Alongside our continued coverage of the UEFA Champions' League, our coverage of
the 2008 FA Cup will begin next year together with a deal through to June 2008
for seven boxing events, six of which will be headlined by Amir Khan. Formula
One is enjoying a renaissance with the number of adult viewers up by 45%
year-on-year to an average of 3.0 million for the first nine races following the
successes of Lewis Hamilton.
Major events coming up over the next few months include the Rugby World Cup,
alongside autumn schedule highlights The X Factor and I'm A Celebrity...Get Me
Out of Here!.
We also made three major US acquisitions for ITV for 2008: Warner Brothers'
Pushing Daisies starring Anna Friel and, from CBS Paramount, Swingtown and Cane.
Digital channels
ITV's family of digital channels lead the UK digital-only sector. ITV2, ITV3 and
ITV4 all rank in the top ten commercial digital channels in Freeview homes by
viewing share, with ITV2 and ITV3 taking first and second positions.
ITV2
ITV2 won Channel of the Year at the 2007 Broadcast Digital Channel Awards. Katie
and Peter: The Next Chapter was the top rating show on ITV2 with a series peak
of 1.4 million viewers. The channel also began commissioning its own drama
programming, including the forthcoming drama Secret Diary of a Call Girl based
on the notorious blog Belle de Jour, and starring Billie Piper.
ITV3
In the first half of 2007 ITV3's share of adult commercial impacts is up 9% at
2.4% and there have been 31 programmes with more than 500,000 viewers.
ITV4
In the first half of 2007, ITV4 has increased its share of adult commercial
impacts by 33% to 0.8%. Sport has been successful for the channel, one live UEFA
Champions' League match averaging 1.1 million viewers and a 5.7% viewing share
in multichannel homes. Our Tour de France highlights have also done well with an
average of 311,000 viewers and 2.0% viewing share in multichannel homes.
Content businesses
ITV Productions
In 2007 so far, ITV Productions has made six out of the top ten highest-rating
programmes on ITV1 (2006: 8 out of 10).
The first half of the year saw ITV Productions earn widespread critical acclaim.
In film, The Queen was awarded two BAFTAs for best film and best actress, with
Helen Mirren going on to win an Oscar for her role.
In television, ITV Productions won BAFTA awards for two ITV dramas broadcast in
2006 - Housewife 49 (Best Actress; Best Single Drama) and See No Evil (Best
Drama Serial).
Our creativity and innovation in programming for other channels was also
recognised at the BAFTAs. Channel 4's Longford won Best Actor for Jim
Broadbent's performance and The Street for BBC1 won Best Drama Series.
Coronation Street and Emmerdale have both performed well for ITV1 in the first
half with average audiences of 10.5 million viewers and 7.8 million viewers
respectively, and a combined audience ahead of 2006.
Non-ITV UK Production
We continued to produce programmes for the other main UK broadcasters, though
the turnover was reduced in the first half of 2007 due to several factors:
- We have reduced our production of low margin programming as we focus on higher
value content. In particular, we are ceasing to produce children's programming
internally.
- The commissioning of our programmes by other major UK free-to-air commercial
broadcasters was lower in the first half.
- In our drama department, some individuals left to set up their own production
businesses, though we have now addressed that with the appointment of a new Head
of Drama. We have maintained relationships and distribution agreements with some
of those former members of staff.
External revenue from studios and resources was marginally ahead at £11 million
in the first half.
International production
International production revenue was up by 10% at £34 million in the first half
with growth in each of our US, German and Australian businesses. In the US, the
acquisition of a controlling interest in Jaffe Braunstein Entertainment LLC
during the period will help to drive growth in television movies and drama.
In Australia the success of Dancing with the Stars continues as the number one
Australian produced programme and has been recommissioned for a seventh series
later in the year. In Germany Das Perfekte Dinner continues to perform strongly.
Granada International distribution and exploitation
External sales in our international distribution business were £1 million lower
in the first half at £53 million. We continue to seek opportunities to represent
other rights owners and have taken a minority interest in the independent
production house Mammoth together with an exclusive distribution agreement for
their content. DVD revenue and volumes increased, whilst retail unit prices
continued to decline.
Consumer businesses
itv.com
The relaunch of itv.com as a video streaming broadband site is now complete,
offering live channel simulcasts, a 30-day catch-up service and archive footage,
as well as supporting material around our major shows. The roll out to consumers
began on 12 June with the new Soaps site and the channel simulcasts for ITV1,
ITV2 and ITV3. Catch-up, archive and exclusive made-for-broadband content
carries pre-roll video advertising. Early signs for the pre-roll video
advertising market are good, with ads for Ford carried in our Britain's Got
Talent online clips generating a click-through rate of 9%, a multiple of 30
times normal average click-through rates.
The site has been launching genre by genre and a comprehensive marketing
campaign is planned for the autumn.
ITV Local
Now operational in London, Central, Meridian, Granada and Wales, itvlocal.com
already covers over 60% of the UK population and will be launched in our
remaining ITV regions by the autumn. Each service is already developing its own
individual personality, with regional partnerships like London's Best of Borough
Film Awards helping to promote local amateur film-making across the city.
Friends Reunited
The family of sites (Friends Reunited, Friends Reunited Dating and Genes
Reunited) continues its growth, with revenues in the first half up by 38% on
2006. Genes Reunited is the largest UK genealogy site and Friends Reunited
Dating is in the UK's top three paid-for dating sites.
ITV Play
Following general industry PRTS/Call TV issues that were raised in March, we
temporarily suspended Call TV on ITV Play. Our systems were reviewed by external
auditors and brought back to air after a short suspension. Programmes have now
resumed on ITV1 although revenues are significantly reduced on 2006. We will
review the Call TV aspect of this business again later in the year.
SDN
SDN has signed a digital switchover transmission contract with Arqiva, giving
SDN certainty over its cost base until at least the end of its next licence
period in 2022.
Carlton Screen Advertising (CSA)
Revenue from CSA reduced by £4 million in the first half and the business
sustained a trading loss as minimum guarantees on long-term contracts with
cinema operators increased the cost of operation. Without significant increases
in cinema advertising revenues, the losses are likely to persist and the
goodwill and intangible assets associated with CSA of £28 million have been
written off and an exceptional charge of £9 million has been taken to provide
against these onerous contracts.
Outlook
ITV1's volume of adult commercial impacts has risen strongly during July and for
the period from 1 January to 29 July was up 0.6%, whilst the share of adult
commercial impacts was down by 4.8%.
Estimated ITV1 advertising revenue for the third quarter is up 1% year on year
and for all ITV channels is up by 4%. We are looking forward to a strong autumn
schedule with some of our most popular returning series and major events
including the Rugby World Cup.
John Cresswell
Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
This section sets out the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that the Company
uses to assess its performance. From these measures our stakeholders will be
able to see how our business is performing.
Financial KPIs
Our financial KPIs are a range of output measures which are used to measure how
successful we have been in achieving our objectives.
2007 2006
ITV1 net advertising revenue (NAR) (£ million) 595 654
In the first half of 2007 ITV's share of total ITV1 net advertising revenues
(NAR) represented 59% of the Company's total revenues before disposed businesses
(2006: 61%). ITV1's advertising performance is one of the biggest factors
influencing the Company's financial results. The principal factor resulting in
the reduction in ITV1 NAR in the first half of 2007 was the contract rights
renewal (CRR) effect as ITV1's share of commercial impacts fell by 10% for the
full year 2006.
2007 2006
Revenue outside of ITV1 NAR (£ million) 409 423
Revenues outside ITV1 NAR consisted of total revenues adjusted for disposed
businesses if material, less ITV1 NAR. We aim to earn more than 50% of total
revenue from outside ITV1 NAR by 2010. In the first half of 2007 revenues
outside ITV1 NAR were 41% of total revenues (2006: 39%).
2007 2006
EBITA before exceptional items (£ million) 151 202
Earnings before interest, taxation, amortisation and exceptional items. This is
the key profit indicator used to assess our performance. The reduction largely
reflects lower revenues and profits for ITV1.
2007 2006
Adjusted EPS (pence) 2.3 3.3
Adjusted earnings per share before exceptional items, amortisation and tax
adjustments. This is an important metric used to demonstrate underlying value
creation per share.
Non-financial KPIs
Our non-financial KPIs are a mixture of output measures. The movements in these
KPIs during the year are explained in the Operating review.
2007 2006
ITV1 total adult impact volume (billions) 118.7 121.2
Total number of adult viewings of a commercial on ITV1 (ratecard weighted to 30
second equivalent) across a year. Our advertising revenue divided by the number
of impacts delivered gives the cost per thousand (CPT) impacts which is the
measure of the unit advertising cost to our customers.
2007 2006
ITV1 adult SOCI (%) 32.2 34.2
ITV1's share of all commercial adult impacts (ratecard weighted to 30 second
equivalent). N.B: Channels which do not carry commercials (e.g. BBC) do not
generate commercial impacts.
2007 2006
Adult SOCI excluding ITV1 (%) 9.3 8.7
ITV's (excluding ITV1) share of all commercial adult impacts (ratecard weighted
to 30 second equivalent).
Impact volumes and share (as well as viewing shares) are measured by the
Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) which is owned by participants in
the broadcast and advertising industries.
Financial review
Revenue
Revenue for the six months to 30 June 2007 was down 7% at £1,004 million (2006:
£1,077 million). The decrease in revenue reflects a decline in Net Advertising
Revenue (NAR) of 5% to £717 million (2006: £752 million) with lower ITV1 and
GMTV NAR being partially offset by increases from the digital channels as
follows:
2007 2006 Change
£m £m %
ITV1 595 654 (9)
ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV, M & M 95 70 36
GMTV 27 28 (4)
Total NAR 717 752 (5)
Other revenues 287 325 (12)
Total 1,004 1,077 (7)
Other revenues have declined primarily due to a £21 million reduction in Call TV
and PRTS revenues, a £12 million decrease in external production sales and a £4
million decrease in Carlton Screen Advertising revenues.
Operating profit
Operating profit before amortisation and exceptional items was down 25% at £151
million (2006: £202 million).
Operating profit of £85 million represents a 48% decrease over 2006 (£163
million). Operating profit is stated after a £9 million onerous contract
provision and a £28 million intangible assets impairment charge both relating to
Carlton Screen Advertising as a result of falling revenues and minimum guarantee
commitments. Profit before tax decreased by 39% to £105 million (2006: £173
million).
Disposal of investments and other assets
During the period, as part of the ongoing process to dispose of non-core
businesses and investments, the Group sold its investment in Liverpool Football
Club and Athletic Grounds plc. This disposal resulted in a gain of £7 million.
The sale of the Group's investment in Arsenal Holdings plc, along with an option
over the Group's 50% interest in Arsenal Broadband Ltd, resulted in a gain of
£28 million. Negotiations for the sale of Arsenal Broadband Ltd are continuing.
In addition to the above, the Group also disposed of certain assets connected to
a transmission outsourcing arrangement for £4 million resulting in a nil gain or
loss being booked.
Disposal of properties
During the period the Group sold a number of non-core properties in Southampton,
Birmingham and Newbury, resulting in a profit on disposal of £9 million.
Tax
The effective rate of tax on profit before tax is 20%. The underlying rate of
tax on operating profits is 30% as shown below:
£m
- Profit before tax as reported 105
- Exceptional items (net) (34)
- Amortisation 56
- Share of profits of joint ventures and associates (2)
Profit before tax, exceptional items, amortisation and share of profits of joint ventures and associates 125
- Tax charge as reported 21
- Net credit for exceptional items 3
- Credit in respect of amortisation 11
- Credit in respect of prior period items 3
Underlying tax charge 38
Underlying rate of tax 30%
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share were down 28% at 2.1 pence (2006: 2.9 pence). Adjusted
basic earnings per share before amortisation and exceptional items were 2.3
pence (2006: 3.3 pence). In 2007 profits from the disposal of properties have
been classified as exceptional items and so are deducted from the adjusted
earnings per share figure. The 2006 adjusted earnings per share has therefore
been restated from 3.4 pence to 3.3 pence to reflect this change.
Dividend
The interim dividend is 1.35 pence per share (2006: 1.35 pence). This is covered
1.70 times (2006: 2.44 times) by the adjusted earnings per share (before
amortisation and exceptional items) of 2.3 pence (2006: 3.3 pence).
Repayment of bonds
During the period, a D356 million exchangeable bond and a £200 million Eurobond
matured resulting in a combined cash outflow of £441 million.
Net debt
The principal movements in net debt during the period are shown in the table
below:
£m £m
Net debt at 31 December 2006 (734)
Cash generated from operations 117
Net interest paid (37)
Taxation receipts 5
Equity dividends paid (55)
Expenditure on property, plant and equipment less proceeds from disposals (19)
Acquisition of subsidiary (3)
Proceeds from sale of assets held for sale 72
Other movements (14)
Net debt at 30 June 2007 (668)
Cash generated from operations was £117 million (2006: £169 million) and was
down on the prior period due to a decrease in operating profits. Cash generated
from operations is stated after a £33 million working capital outflow (2006: £35
million) primarily relating to payments for acquired US films and series. Net
interest paid on the Group's net debt position was £37 million. Net taxation
receipts of £5 million reflect taxation repayments from prior periods more than
offsetting payments relating to the current period. The 2006 interim dividend of
£52 million was paid at the start of the period and along with a £3 million
payment for the dividend reinvestment plan (in respect of the 2006 final
dividend) gave a £55 million outflow. Expenditure on property, plant and
equipment less proceeds from disposals totalled £19 million. During the period
the Group acquired a 51% investment in Jaffe Braunstein Entertainment LLC for a
cash consideration of £3 million. Proceeds from sale of assets held for sale of
£72 million include cash from disposal of the Group's investment in Liverpool
Football Club and Athletic Grounds plc, its investment in Arsenal Holdings plc
along with an option over the Group's 50% interest in Arsenal Broadband Limited
and certain assets connected to a transmission outsourcing arrangement.
Pensions
The IAS 19 deficit at 30 June 2007 was £162 million (31 December 2006: £285
million). The reduction in the deficit is primarily due to a significant
increase in real corporate bond yields which reduced the net present value of
scheme liabilities compared to the position at 31 December 2006. This has
resulted in a £106 million net actuarial gain recognised through the statement
of recognised income and expense during the period.
After a period of consultation with active members of our defined benefit
pension scheme, we have made some changes to future accruals under that scheme,
designed to make the scheme more affordable for the Company whilst maintaining
an appropriate level of benefit for members. The changes will reduce the
actuarial cost to the Company of future accruals in the defined benefit pension
scheme by some £6 million a year from 2008.
Consolidated income statement
For the six months ended 30 June: Note 2007 2006
£m £m
Revenue 1,004 1,077
Operating costs before amortisation of intangible assets and exceptional items (853) (875)
Operating costs - exceptional items 1 (10) (11)
Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) 141 191
Amortisation of intangible assets 5 (56) (28)
Total operating costs (919) (914)
Operating profit 85 163
Financing income 94 81
Financing costs (121) (98)
Net financing costs (27) (17)
Share of profit of associates and joint ventures 2 4
Investment income 1 2
Gain on sale of property - exceptional items 1 9 4
Gain on sale of businesses and investments - exceptional items 1 35 17
Profit before tax 105 173
Taxation (21) (52)
Profit for the period 84 121
Attributable to:
Equity shareholders of the parent company 83 120
Minority interests 1 1
Profit for the period 84 121
Basic earnings per share 2 2.1p 2.9p
Diluted earnings per share 2 2.1p 2.9p
All results are from continuing operations.
Dividends paid during the period and shown in the cash flow statement totalled
£55 million (2006: £61 million). Subsequent to the balance sheet date the
Company has declared a dividend in respect of the six months ended 30 June 2007
of 1.35 pence (six months ended 30 June 2006: 1.35 pence) per ordinary share
which, based on the shares in issue on 30 June 2007, totals £52 million (six
months ended 30 June 2006: £55 million).
Consolidated statement of recognised income and expense
For the six months ended 30 June: 2007 2006
£m £m
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations - (2)
Revaluation of available for sale investments (9) (7)
Disposals transferred from available for sale reserve to income statement (16) (29)
Actuarial gains and losses on defined benefit schemes 106 -
Taxation on items taken directly in equity (36) -
Net income/(expense) recognised directly in equity 45 (38)
Profit for the period 84 121
Total recognised income and expense for the period 129 83
Attributable to:
Equity shareholders of the parent company 128 82
Minority interests 1 1
Total recognised income and expense for the period 129 83
Consolidated balance sheet
Note 30 June 31 December 30 June
2007 2006 2006
£m £m £m
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 200 193 250
Intangible assets 5 3,847 3,895 3,919
Investments in joint ventures and associates 7 67 66 97
Equity investments 8 29 37 85
Distribution rights 9 11 15
Deferred tax asset in respect of pension scheme deficits - - 96
Other deferred tax balances - - (52)
Net deferred tax asset - - 44
4,152 4,202 4,410
Current assets
Assets held for sale 72 132 19
Programme rights and other inventory 451 400 377
Trade and other receivables due within one year 394 405 358
Trade and other receivables due after more than one year 7 7 22
Trade and other receivables 401 412 380
Cash and cash equivalents 9 582 961 439
1,506 1,905 1,215
Current liabilities
Liabilities held for sale (2) - -
Borrowings 9 (29) (471) (490)
Trade and other payables due within one year (679) (706) (681)
Trade and other payables due after more than one year (28) (9) (4)
Trade and other payables (707) (715) (685)
Current tax liabilities (191) (159) (195)
Provisions (17) (9) (22)
(946) (1,354) (1,392)
Net current assets/(liabilities) 560 551 (177)
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings 9 (1,221) (1,224) (646)
Defined benefit pension deficit (162) (285) (320)
Deferred tax in respect of pension scheme deficits 45 86 -
Other deferred tax balances (81) (93) -
Net deferred tax liability (36) (7) -
Other payables (56) (56) (29)
Provisions (13) (18) (9)
(1,488) (1,590) (1,004)
Net assets 3,224 3,163 3,229
Attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company
Share capital 10 389 401 405
Share premium 10 120 120 120
Merger and other reserves 10 2,702 2,690 2,686
Translation reserve 10 (3) (3) (1)
Available for sale reserve 10 (8) 17 (5)
Retained earnings 10 18 (69) 17
Total attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company 10 3,218 3,156 3,222
Minority interest 10 6 7 7
Total equity 10 3,224 3,163 3,229
Consolidated cash flow statement
2007 2006
For the six months ended 30 June: £m £m £m £m
Cash flows from operating activities
Operating profit before exceptional items 95 174
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 15 15
Amortisation of intangible assets 56 28
Movement in working capital (33) (35)
Cash generated from operations before exceptional items 133 182
Cash flow relating to exceptional items:
Operating loss (10) (11)
Decrease in payables and provisions* (6) (2)
Cash outflow from exceptional items (16) (13)
Cash generated from operations 117 169
Defined benefit pension deficit funding - (207)
Interest received 34 9
Interest paid on bank and other loans (69) (22)
Interest paid on finance leases (2) (2)
Investment income 1 2
Taxation received/(paid) 5 (45)
(31) (265)
Net cash from/(used in) operating activities 86 (96)
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisition of subsidiary undertakings, net of cash and cash equivalents
acquired, and debt repaid on acquisition (3) -
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 4 6
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment (23) (55)
Acquisition of intangible fixed assets (5) -
Proceeds from sale of assets held for sale 72 -
Loans repaid by investments 1 -
Proceeds from sale of businesses - 22
Proceeds from sale of investments - 86
Net cash from investing activities 46 59
Cash flows from financing activities
Share buy back - (86)
Purchase of own shares via employee benefit trust (6) (26)
Bank and other loans - amounts repaid (441) (4)
Capital element of finance lease payments (2) (2)
Dividend paid to minority interest (2) (6)
Equity dividends paid (55) (61)
Net cash used in financing activities (506) (185)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (374) (222)
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 961 663
Reclassification as asset held for sale (3) -
Effects of exchange rate changes and fair value movements on cash and cash
equivalents (2) (2)
Cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 582 439
*Includes £1 million (2006: £2 million) relating to expenditure against
provisions held in respect of activities which have been previously
discontinued.
Notes to the accounts
1 Exceptional items
For the six months ended 30 June: 2007 2006
£m £m
Operating items:
Reorganisation and integration costs (1) (2)
Carlton Screen Advertising onerous contract provision (9) -
Costs associated with private equity approach - (11)
Receipt from the liquidators of Shop! - 2
(10) (11)
Non-operating items:
Profit on sale of investment in Seven Network - 29
Loss on disposal of Granada Learning - (12)
Profit on disposal of investment in Arsenal Holdings plc and option
over investment in Arsenal Broadband Limited 28 -
Profit on disposal of investment in Liverpool Football Club and 7 -
Athletic Grounds plc
Gain on sale of businesses and investments 35 17
Gain on sale of property 9 4
Total exceptional items 34 10
2 Earnings per share
2007 2006
Basic Diluted
For the six months ended 30 June: Basic Diluted (Restated) (Restated)
£m £m £m £m
Profit for the period attributable to shareholders 83 83 120 120
Exceptional items (including related tax effect of £3 million, 2006:
£5 million) (37) (37) (5) (5)
Profit before exceptional items 46 46 115 115
Amortisation of intangible assets (including related tax effect of
£11 million, 2006: £8 million) 45 45 20 20
Prior period tax adjustments (3) (3) - -
Profit for the financial period before exceptional items and amortisation
of intangible assets 88 88 135 135
Weighted average number of shares in issue - million 3,875 3,875 4,105 4,105
Dilution impact of share options - million - 23 - 36
3,875 3,898 4,105 4,141
Earnings per ordinary share 2.1p 2.1p 2.9p 2.9p
Adjusted earnings per share
Basic earnings per share 2.1p 2.1p 2.9p 2.9p
Less: Earnings per share on exceptional items (0.9)p (0.9)p (0.1)p (0.1)p
Earnings per share before exceptional items 1.2p 1.2p 2.8p 2.8p
Add: Loss per ordinary share on amortisation of intangible assets 1.2p 1.2p 0.5p 0.5p
Less: Profit per ordinary share on prior year tax adjustments (0.1)p (0.1)p - -
Earnings per share for the period before exceptional items and
amortisation of intangible assets 2.3p 2.3p 3.3p 3.3p
All profits arise from continuing operations. An adjusted earnings per share has
been disclosed because in the view of the directors this gives a fairer
reflection of the results of the underlying business.
The 2006 earnings per share figures have been restated to exclude the profit on
sale of properties of £4 million to reflect more accurately the
underlying business.
3 Dividends
Dividends are recognised in equity during the period in which they are declared.
Dividends recognised in equity for the six months ended 30 June 2007 total £70
million (six months ended 30 June 2006: £74 million) and represent the 2006
final dividend proposed by the Company on 7 March 2007 and approved at the
annual general meeting held on 17 May 2007 (six months ended 30 June 2006: 2005
final dividend proposed on 8 March 2006).
Subsequent to the balance sheet date the Company has declared a dividend in
respect of the six months ended 30 June 2007 of 1.35 pence (six months ended 30
June 2006: 1.35 pence) per ordinary share which, based on the shares in issue on
30 June 2007, totals £52 million (six months ended 30 June 2006: £55 million)
that will be paid on 7 January 2008 to shareholders on the register at 9
November 2007.
4 Segmental analysis
The Group has one main producer/broadcaster reportable business segment. This
segment includes all activities related to the production and broadcasting of
television programmes and channels, including the exploitation of related rights
and assets. Any activities falling outside of this main segment are grouped
together as other operations.
Producer/ Other Consolidated
broadcaster operations
2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Segment revenue 962 1,026 42 51 1,004 1,077
Segment result 90 161 (5) 2 85 163
5 Intangible assets
Customer Film
contracts and Software libraries
Goodwill Brands Licences relationships Development and other Total
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m
Cost
At 31 December 2006 3,443 199 121 338 4 78 4,183
Additions 2 - - - 5 1 8
At 30 June 2007 3,445 199 121 338 9 79 4,191
Amortisation
At 31 December 2006 20 50 20 182 - 16 288
Charge for period - 9 5 12 - 2 28
Impairment charge 20 - - 8 - - 28
At 30 June 2007 40 59 25 202 - 18 344
Net book value
At 30 June 2007 3,405 140 96 136 9 61 3,847
At 31 December 2006 3,423 149 101 156 4 62 3,895
6 Disposal of investments
During the period the Group disposed of its interests in Arsenal Holdings plc
and Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds plc. The Group's 9.99% interest
in Arsenal Holdings plc, along with an option over the Group's 50% interest in
Arsenal Broadband Limited, was sold for a total cash consideration of £50
million and resulted in a gain of £28 million on disposal. The Group's 9.99%
interest in Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds plc was sold for a cash
consideration of £17 million and resulted in a gain of £7 million on disposal.
7 Investments in joint ventures and associates
Joint Associated Total
ventures undertakings £m
£m £m
At 31 December 2006 59 7 66
Share of attributable profits 1 - 1
At 30 June 2007 60 7 67
8 Equity investments
£m
At 31 December 2006 37
Revaluation to fair value (8)
At 30 June 2007 29
9 Analysis of net debt
Currency
and
31 December Net cash non-cash 30 June
2006 flow movements 2007
£m £m £m £m
Cash 824 (354) (3) 467
Cash equivalents 137 (20) (2) 115
Cash and cash equivalents 961 (374) (5) 582
Loans and loan notes due within one year (468) 441 1 (26)
Finance leases due within one year (3) 2 (2) (3)
Loans and loan notes due after one year (1,152) - 1 (1,151)
Finance leases due after one year (72) - 2 (70)
(1,695) 443 2 (1,250)
Net debt (734) 69 (3) (668)
Included within cash equivalents is £73 million (31 December 2006: £75 million)
the use of which is restricted to meeting finance lease commitments.
10 Consolidated statement of changes in equity
Attributable to equity shareholders
Share Share Merger Translation Available Retained Total Minority Total
capital premium and other reserve for earnings £m interest equity
£m £m reserves £m sale £m £m £m
£m reserve
£m
At 31 December 2006 401 120 2,690 (3) 17 (69) 3,156 7 3,163
Cancellation of deferred
shares (12) - 12 - - - - - -
Total recognised income
and expense - - - - (25) 153 128 1 129
Movements due to
share-based compensation - - - - - 4 4 - 4
Dividends paid to minority
interests - - - - - - - (2) (2)
Equity dividends - - - - - (70) (70) - (70)
At 30 June 2007 389 120 2,702 (3) (8) 18 3,218 6 3,224
Attributable to equity shareholders
Share Share Merger Translation Available Retained Total Minority Total
capital premium and other reserve for earnings £m interest equity
£m £m reserves £m sale £m £m £m
£m reserve
£m
At 31 December 2005 423 98 2,666 (1) 33 74 3,293 12 3,305
Share buy backs (8) - 8 - - (86) (86) - (86)
Shares issued in the period 2 22 - - - - 24 - 24
Cancellation of convertible
shares (12) - 12 - - - - - -
Total recognised income and
expense - - - - (38) 120 82 1 83
Movements due to
share-based compensation - - - - - (17) (17) - (17)
Dividends paid to minority
interests - - - - - - - (6) (6)
Equity dividends - - - - - (74) (74) - (74)
At 30 June 2006 405 120 2,686 (1) (5) 17 3,222 7 3,229
11 Basis of preparation
This interim financial information has been prepared applying the accounting
policies and presentation that were applied in the preparation of the Company's
published consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2006.
For the purposes of interim reporting the defined benefit pension schemes' key
assumptions and asset values have been reviewed to assess whether material net
actuarial gains and losses have occurred during the period. As there have been
material movements in the key underlying assumptions and asset values during the
period a formal revaluation has been carried out and actuarial gains and losses
have been recognised through the statement of recognised income and expense. A
full valuation will take place at 31 December 2007 in accordance with IAS 19.
The comparative information at 30 June 2006 and 31 December 2006 is abridged and
therefore not ITV plc's statutory accounts for those periods.
The accounts for the year ended 31 December 2006 have been reported on by ITV
plc's auditor. The report of the auditor was unqualified and did not
contain a statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. This
is a statutory disclosure required by the Companies Act 1985.
Independent review by KPMG Audit Plc to ITV plc
Introduction
We have been engaged by the Company to review the financial statements and the
financial information for the six months ended 30 June 2007 which comprises of
the Consolidated income statement, Consolidated statement of recognised income
and expense, Consolidated balance sheet, Consolidated cash flow statement and
the related notes. We have read the other information contained in the interim
report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material
inconsistencies with the financial information.
This report is made solely to the Company in accordance with the terms of our
engagement to assist the Company in meeting the requirements of
the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority. Our review has been
undertaken so that we might state to the Company those matters we are required
to state to it in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent
permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than
the Company for our review work, for this report, or for the conclusions we have
reached.
Directors' responsibilities
The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, is
the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors
are responsible for preparing the interim report in accordance with the Listing
Rules of the Financial Services Authority which require that the accounting
policies and presentation applied to the interim figures should be consistent
with those applied in preparing the preceding annual accounts except where any
changes, and the reasons for them, are disclosed.
Review work performed
We conducted our review in accordance with guidance contained in Bulletin 1999/
4: Review of interim financial information issued by the Auditing Practices
Board for use in the UK. A review consists principally of making enquiries of
management and applying analytical procedures to the financial information and
underlying financial data and, based thereon, assessing whether the accounting
policies and presentation have been consistently applied unless otherwise
disclosed. A review excludes audit procedures such as tests of controls and
verification of assets, liabilities and transactions.
It is substantially less in scope than an audit performed in accordance with
International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) and therefore provides
a lower level of assurance than an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an
audit opinion on the financial information.
Review conclusion
On the basis of our review we are not aware of any material modifications that
should be made to the financial information as presented for the six months
ended 30 June 2007.
KPMG Audit Plc
Chartered Accountants
PO Box 695
8 Salisbury Square
London EC4Y 8BB
8 August 2007
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