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LONDON (Alliance News) - STV Group PLC on Tuesday said it swung to loss in the first half of 2018 following the closure of its STV2 channel and disposal of its licenses.
The media company said it swung to pretax loss of GBP4.3 million in the six months to June 30, compared to a GBP7.5 million profit reported for the same period a year earlier. Revenue, however, rose to GBP57.7 million from GBP54.6 million.
The company said it booked GBP8.6 million in charges related to restructuring and a non-cash writedown of stock and assets of GBP5.6 million due to the closure of the STV2 channel.
Within the broadcast division and as part of a strategic plan, STV2 was closed at the end of June and the licences sold to That's TV.
STV Productions delivered revenue of GBP3.7 million, up 42% from GBP2.6 million a year ago as a result of an increased schedule of deliveries in early 2018.
The regional advertising market has maintained an improved rate of growth, STV Group said, with revenue up 15% year-on-year at GBP6.1 million and sponsorship up 7.1% at GBP3.0 million.
Finally, the STV External Lottery Manager division delivered revenue of GBP2.8 million, down from GBP3.3 million the year before, reflecting lower than expected Scottish Children's Lottery ticket sales.
The company confirmed an interim dividend of 6 pence per share and proposed a full-year payout of 20 pence, up 18% year-on-year.
"The results announced today show encouraging underlying growth across all of our key business areas so far in 2018, which we expect to continue for the remainder of the year," said Chief Executive Simon Pitts.
STV Group shares were trading broadly flat on Tuesday at 405.59 pence each.
