Shares in STV (STVG) rose nearly 7 per cent to their highest level in almost five years after the Scottish broadcaster delivered a first-half performance ahead of analyst expectations and announced its intention to resume dividend payments. The board plans to make a 1.5p-a-share final payout. Moreover, the group made solid progress in reducing net debt by over a fifth to £43.4m, while the pension fund deficit was cut from £23m to £15m.
The profit performance was solid enough, but less impressive than the headline figures suggest as a one-off £4.9m charge reduced profits last year. Adjust for that and operating profits edged up 1 per cent to £8.2m. On the production side, revenues increased 84 per cent to £4.6m and, while the business is profitable, the division reported a loss of £500,000 due to the timing of payments. Still, the pipeline of new business remains strong, including a recommission of a further 12 episodes of Catchphrase for ITV1.
On the consumer channels side, national airtime revenue grew by 4 per cent, and is expected to have risen by 6 per cent by the end of the third quarter. New digital products and mobile services have been launched, and a local television service for Glasgow and Edinburgh are planned for next year.
Numis is forecasting flat full-year pre-tax profits of £14.5m and EPS of 29.7p.
| STV (STVG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 186p | MARKET VALUE: | £73m | |
| TOUCH: | 182-187p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 187p | LOW: 81p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 6 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | * | NET DEBT: | £43.4m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 47.6 | 0.80 | 2.7 | nil |
| 2013 | 51.2 | 6.20 | 13.2 | nil |
| % change | +8 | +675 | +389 | - |
*Negative shareholder funds | ||||
