ITV comits to at least 20% dividend increases over the next 3 years

DividendMax Ltd.

ITV comits to at least 20% dividend increases over the next 3 years

ITV plc Interim Results

ITV on track to deliver another year of growth

Revenue growth delivered by all parts of the business

Total external revenues up 7% to £1,225m

ITV Family NAR up 7% ahead of the market, as expected

Online, Pay & Interactive up 20% to £67m

Total ITV Studios revenues up 2% to £402m

Another period of double digit profit growth

EBITA before exceptional items up 11% at £322m

Broadcast & Online EBITA up 10% to £250m

ITV Studios EBITA up 14% to £72m

Adjusted PBT up 16% at £312m

Adjusted EPS up 15% at 6.1p

Further investment in content - ITV Studios and on-screen

Completed acquisition of 80% of Leftfield Entertainment

Acquisitions coming through as expected

Investing in organic growth of our international scripted business

Successful launch of ITV Encore - ITVBe on track to launch later this year

ITV SOV down 3% in H1, improved from Q1

Further strong growth in long form video requests, up 20%

Positive outlook for full year and next phase of our strategy

Total cost savings of around £15m for the full year - £5m ahead of original target

ITV Family NAR expected to be up 4% to 5% in Q3 and up around 6% in the nine months to 30 September. We will significantly outperform the market over the full year

Online, Pay & Interactive will deliver strong revenue growth, at least in line with H1

Our acquisitions will ensure continued good growth in ITV Studios this year and into next year, and we will see a return to good organic growth in 2015 helped by investment in scripted

Looking ahead we are committed to our original vision for ITV

We see clear opportunities for investing in growth across the business - in content, online, pay and advertising

As our strategy evolves we will continue to rebalance the business and grow new revenue streams and there will be an increasing emphasis on international content creation and distribution

Delivering increased shareholder returns

The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.4p which will be roughly a third of the full year dividend

The Board has committed to at least 20% annual growth in the ordinary dividend over the next three years

Adam Crozier, ITV Chief Executive, said:

"We have made further good progress with our strategy of growing and strengthening all parts of ITV. In the first six months of the year we again delivered double digit profit growth in every area of the business and increased revenues by 7%. ITV Family NAR was up 7%, ahead of the TV advertising market and Online, Pay & Interactive performed strongly, up 20%. Share of viewing improved during Q2, helped by the FIFA World Cup, and we're confident of our strong Autumn schedule with both new and returning drama and entertainment. Online, Pay & Interactive is on track to deliver strong growth for the year as a whole, at least in line with the first half. The economic recovery is leading to an improved advertising market, with good growth across all key categories and ITV is well placed to take market share. We expect ITV Family NAR to be up around 6% in the nine months to the end of September and we will significantly outperform the market over the full year.

For the first half total Studios revenues were up 2% with the acquisitions coming through as expected while organic growth was impacted by the phasing in the delivery of some programmes and the proportion of ITV's programme budget allocated to the FIFA World Cup. We continue to invest in growing internationally and, following the acquisition of Leftfield Entertainment, ITV is now the biggest unscripted independent production company in the US. 

Looking forward we expect good growth in ITV Studios in 2014, driven by our acquisitions. In 2015 we will see further growth from these acquisitions and we will return to good organic growth helped by our investment in global scripted content, such as Texas Rangers and Aquarius in the US and Jekyll & Hyde, Jambusters and Thunderbirds Are Go in the UK.

We enter the next phase of ITV's growth strategy as a demonstrably better business than when we launched the Transformation Plan in 2010. The plan we embarked on four years ago of rebalancing and strengthening ITV creatively and financially, both in the UK and internationally, is clearly the right one for the Company and our vision remains unchanged.

We will continue to rebalance the business and grow new revenue streams, both organically and through acquisition. We see clear opportunities for growth across the business - in content, online, pay and advertising and there will be an increasing emphasis on international content creation and distribution.

The market environment in which we operate is constantly changing, characterised by converging media and the increasing influence of technology, which brings both challenges and opportunities. ITV's financial strength and its strategic advantages including the scale of our UK channels, our share of the advertising market, and our growing global network in the development, production and distribution of content, put us in a strong position to be able to meet these challenges and exploit opportunities for growth.

As ITV enters the next phase of the plan the Board believes it is important that we maintain capital discipline and the flexibility to invest in the business at the same time as delivering a normal payout ratio for shareholders. Reflecting the Board's confidence in the ongoing growth and cash generation of the business the Board is committed to the full year ordinary dividend growing by at least 20% per annum over the next three years - starting this year."

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