ITV the UK commercial broadcaster, has revealed its Q1 figures that showed a decline in both revenues and advertising income. Online, pay & interactive revenues were up 12 per cent however, driven by a 22 per cent growth in online advertising.

Adam Crozier, ITV’s Chief Executive who will be leaving the company at the end of June, commented: “ITV’s overall performance and the shape of the UK advertising market are very much as we anticipated and our guidance for the full year remains unchanged.

External revenue was down 3 per cent over the first quarter with the good growth in non-spot advertising revenues offset by the expected decline in ITV Family NAR, down 9 per cent.  Online, Pay & Interactive continued to grow strongly driven by increased demand for online advertising, up 22 per cent. ITV Studios total revenues grew 7 per cent, including currency benefit, with a solid pipeline of new and returning programmes coming through.

Viewing remains strong both on-screen and online.  ITV main channel share of viewing is up 4 per cent, ITV Family share of viewing is up 2 per cent and online viewing is up 32 per cent.

Over the first half we expect ITV Family NAR to be down 8 per cent to 9 per cent. In line with previous guidance April was up 5 per cent, while we expect May to be down 8 per cent and June to be down 15 per cent to 20 per cent against the tough comparator of the Euros last year. The first half performance will also be impacted by the weighting of the programme budget to the first 6 months and the phasing of Studios deliveries, most significantly the non-recurring benefit of The Voice of China in 2016.

While the economic environment remains uncertain our guidance over the full year remains unchanged.  We expect to grow our share of broadcast and will continue to deliver good growth in Online, Pay & Interactive driven by strong demand for online advertising.   We are confident that ITV Studios will report good organic revenue growth for 2017 and we have already secured over 75 per cent of the expected full year’s revenue. We remain on track to deliver £25 million overhead savings and a £25 million reduction in the programme budget with the absence of a major sporting event.

We are pleased that the Digital Economy Bill, which includes the repeal of s73, has received Royal Assent with the Government confirming that repeal will be enacted without delay, paving the way for the introduction of retransmission fees.

We remain committed to our strategy of rebalancing and strengthening ITV. We see clear opportunities to invest for further growth across the business and our robust balance sheet and strong underlying cash flows allow us to continue to do so.”

Q1 highlights:

• Q1 in line with expectations and ITV on track to deliver full year guidance
• Total external revenue down 3 per cent to £731 million (2016: £755m)
• Total ITV Studios revenue up 7 per cent at £343 mllion (2016: £322m), with a good performance from ITV America and the benefit of foreign exchange
• Broadcast & Online revenues down 6 per cent to £507 million (2016: £539m), with continued strong growth in Online, Pay & Interactive offset by ITV Family NAR down 9 per cent as expected
• Online, Pay & Interactive up 12 per cent, driven by 22 per cent growth in online advertising
• ITV share of viewing up 4 per cent, ITV Family share of viewing up 2 per cent and online viewing up 32 per cent
• ITV Family NAR forecast to be down 8 per cent to 9 per cent over the first half
• Profit over H1 will be impacted by higher share of programme budget spend and timing of ITV Studios deliveries as previously guided
• Royal Assent for the Digital Economy Bill paves the way for retransmission fees

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