STV 's (STVG) cross-platform strategy and new city-focused channel helped the Scottish broadcaster raise its first-half operating profit by a fifth to £9.8m.
Sales in its consumer segment climbed 7 per cent as World Cup fervour helped the flagship STV channel increase its national airtime revenue by 8 per cent. The group also achieved digital gains, as downloads of its STV Player app rose two-thirds and catch-up viewings on its STV Player climbed 14 per cent to over 1m a month. Together, with the launch of STV Live in July, that helped the group increase its digital sales by 16 per cent.
The group's city-focused channel, STV Glasgow, attracted close to 650,000 viewers on average in its first two months - a third of the available audience. It appeals to a younger audience than STV and also attracts local businesses, meaning around 60 per cent of its initial advertisers were new customers to STV. That pattern could be repeated with the launch of STV Edinburgh in January.
STV's productions business also performed well, with BBC One commissioning a further 40 episodes of The Link, a daytime quiz show. The group also ramped up its dividend guidance to 6p this year, and is on track to reduce its net debt to 1.5 times cash profits by the end of the year.
Broker Numis Securities expects full-year pre-tax profits of £17.5m, giving EPS of 38p, up from £15.2m and 33p last year.
| STV (STVG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 375p | MARKET VALUE: | £147m | |
| TOUCH: | 371-379p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 394p | LOW: 205p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.1% | PE RATIO: | 10 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 33p* | NET DEBT: | 308% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 51.2 | 6.2 | 13.2 | nil |
| 2014 | 54.7 | 8.4 | 18.7 | 2 |
| % change | +7 | +35 | +42 | - |
Ex-div: 8 Sep Payment: 14 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £9.3m, or 24p a share | ||||
