ULSTER TELEVISION yesterday said that it expected to maintain double-digit advertising sales growth for the rest of the year — ensuring it outperforms ITV as a whole for the fourth consecutive year.
The Northern Ireland broadcaster is one of four regional ITV franchises that are not owned by ITV plc, the company created out of the merger of Carlton and Granada. Ulster, reporting interim figures, said TV ad revenues would increase by about 14 per cent in the third quarter, compared with the ITV network average of about 4 per cent.
Company executives pointed to the outperformance as an indication that Ulster had no reason to sell itself to ITV. Scott Taunton, business development director, said: “These numbers show we do a good job of running our own business without outside help.”
Ulster TV has been successful in promoting itself as an all-Ireland service. The broadcaster is available through cable in two thirds of homes in the Irish Republic, and is the second-most-watched channel in those households.
The other independents are SMG, which owns two Scottish franchises, and the tiny Channel Television, a broadcaster in the Channel Islands.In the first half, Ulster’s profits grew 45 per cent to £6.2 million. Group turnover was up 17 per cent to £30.1 million, and TV advertising revenue — which accounts for about three quarters of all turnover — was up by 16 per cent compared with a 3.8 per cent rise elsewhere in the ITV network.
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Ulster’s growth has outpaced ITV network growth since the first half of 2000, as the company has successfully sold itself to Irish advertisers. About half of Ulster’s advertising sales are generated in Belfast and Dublin, a far higher proportion of local sales than generated by other ITV operations in England and Wales.
Shares in Ulster Television added 10p to close at 426p. The interim dividend is 4.5p, up nearly 10 per cent.