talkSPORT owners UTV Media have announced group pre-tax profits of £21.1m for 2010, up 17 percent from the previous year.
The radio division's operating profit was 18.7m, with 11.7m from British stations and the remainder from its portfolio in Ireland.
Operating profits at national UK speech station talkSPORT were up by more than a third to £6.4m out of a turnover of £28.2m. The radio business at UTV accounted for almost three-quarters of total operating profit.
John McCann, the group's Chief Executive, said, "I am pleased that despite the difficult economic environment UTV achieved record pre tax profits, pre exceptional items, in 2010. With strong audiences across our platforms and significantly reduced debt we remain confident that we are well placed to meet market challenges and opportunities over the coming year."
Jim Downey, Group Commercial Director, added: "Obviously there's a lot of ifs about the economic situation. We've had a very solid start to 2011. We're seeing growth continuing into 2011, but the cutbacks of government are still yet to have an effect on Northern Ireland so we're cautiously optimistic going forward."