STV records 9% revenue increase for start of 2011
Ahead of its annual general meeting this morning, Scottish broadcaster STV has said that it expected its revenue to be in-line with the national market with a 9% increase in revenue for the start of 2011.
Alongside the growth in revenue, the company has also said that its television airtime revenue has increased by 11% during the first quarter of the year, but that the regional television marketing had been impacted by the slower pace of economic recovery, and was down by 10% from this time last year.
The trading update also saw Richard Findlay, chairman of STV reveal that television advertising was forecast to increase by 7% in April, but would fall by 7% in May in comparison to the spike from last year’s figures due to the World Cup build-up.
It was also claimed that the impact of the Scottish Election on the regional market is also being impacted by the Scottish Election, with a decline of 19% in April and 10% in May in comparison to last year.
He also highlighted the continued roll out of STV Local, which now has 21 sites, and that the company’s new pilot, proving a more local focus on news, would begin on 16 May.
"We have delivered a strong start overall to 2011 and there is real momentum throughout our business as we continue to achieve revenue growth across all platforms. We remain confident of our ability to continue to create enhanced shareholder value and deliver against the challenging KPI targets we have set out,” said Findlay.
Meanwhile, chief executive, Rob Woodward added: "We are continuing to deliver growth and develop new consumer services and progress our digital strategy. Whilst the advertising market remains short-term in outlook, we are creating new opportunities to grow advertising revenues and increase our market share. Overall, we are successfully building a reputation as an innovative, solutions driven, digital business."
As for the litigation between STV and ITV, the company has said that there was no update on the situation.
In February the company released its preliminary financial results which revealed that last year the company more than doubled its pre-tax profits with £13 million.