Proactive Investors - ITV PLC (LON:ITV) has reported that growth within its production segment and streaming service largely offset the effects of a downturn in television advertising spend last year.
Group revenue fell 2% to £4.26 billion during the year to December, ITV reported on Thursday.
However, ITV Studios revenue grew 4% to a record £2.17 billion, while digital revenue climbed 19% to £490 million after a strong first full year of streaming platform ITVX.
This “substantially offset” a 15% decline in linear advertising, according to chief executive Carolyn McCall, after the television sector has suffered from a slowdown in advertising spending.
“2023 was the year of peak investment for streaming, which, together with the successful execution of our strategy and the efficiencies delivered to date, have made ITV more robust,” McCall commented.
“ITV has a leading, scaled, global studios business, a high growth streaming service and a cash generative linear advertising business [...] This ensures that we are well placed to grow profits from here.”
Adjusted pre-tax earnings slipped 32% to £489 million over the year, while net debt reduced 11% to £553 million.
A final 3.3p dividend was declared, taking the total to 5p for the year, while ITV also announced a £235 million share buyback, using funds from its Britbox sale, would start on Thursday.
“We remain on track to deliver at least £750 million of digital revenues by 2026,” ITV added.