STV upbeat on outlook for full-year earnings

Broadcaster STV today told investors that it was confident of meeting its full-year profit target.

STV chief executive Rob Woodward. Picture: John Devlin

The Glasgow-based group, which saw earnings dip at the half-year stage, said in a trading update that profits were “in line with the board’s expectations”.

In August, STV revealed that it had signed a development deal to bolster its production arm, which suffered a 56 per cent fall in revenues during the six months to the end of June. The agreement with GroupM will see the two co-invest in entertainment, factual and drama programmes for broadcasters in UK and internationally.

The tie-up came as STV, led by chief executive Rob Woodward, reported a 7 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to £7.8 million for the first half.

Analysts at Liberum have pencilled in a pre-tax profit of £19.4m for 2015, up from £17.3m last year. STV’s annual results will be announced in February.