City AM - from earlier today28 Jul 2021 11:33
ITV to reintroduce dividend at end of 2021
Broadcaster ITV said it is ‘emerging from the worst of the pandemic’ as it reported significant growth in revenue and earnings during the first half, and said it intends to reinstate its dividend at the end of 2021.
ITV shares were up 4.1% in early trade this morning at 123.83p.
Total revenue rose 26% year-on-year in the first half to the end of June to £1.82 billion. ITV Studios reported 26% growth as the vast majority of its programmes have restarted production after being derailed last year, while its Media & Entertainment division reported 25% growth thanks to an uptick in demand for TV advertising as the economy reopens.
Adjusted Ebita almost doubled to £327 million from £165 million the year before. Reported pretax profit leapt to £133 million from only £15 million the year before, with EPS following higher to 2.4p from 0.5p.
ITV Studios is working on a flurry of new productions, spanning from hit drama Line of Duty to unscripted programming like Dancing on Ice and Love Island. Meanwhile, advertising revenue hit an all-time record in June as it benefited from the easing of lockdown restrictions and the boost provided by showing the Euros football tournament.
Viewing figures were down 6% overall in the first half, partly because of the strong comparatives from last year when TV viewing skyrocketed during lockdown. However, views on ITV Hub increased 6% and registered users increased 7% to 34.6 million.
‘We are optimistic about the future, despite the ongoing pandemic risk on our advertising and ITV Studios revenues. We know that the dividend is important to our shareholders and we intend to re-commence a progressive dividend policy based on a notional dividend of 5p per share which we expect to grow over time. The first dividend under the new policy would be a final dividend of 3.3p per share proposed at the full year results in respect of 2021,’ ITV said.
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