Profits up at talkSPORT owner UTV Media

UTV Media’s Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2011 show pre-tax profits are up around the group by 10% to £23.3m.

In the Radio GB division, revenue has grown 6% to £12.4m whilst Irish Radio Revenues are down by 4%.

It puts the group in a good position as it launches a new service, Signal 107, made up by combining The Wolf, The Severn and The Wyre into one station.

talkSPORT, which has switched to an all-sport format, has performed particularly well during the year, despite the absence of the 2010 Football World Cup, the company says.

Trading for the group’s local radio stations, including Juice FM in Liverpool and Radio Wave in Blackpool “remained challenging but managed to increase revenue and benefitted from increased synergies”.

In Ireland, operating profit fell by 8% to £6.4m, but “significantly out-performed the Irish radio market”.

John McCann, Group Chief Executive, UTV Media plc, said: “I’m very pleased with the company’s performance against what has remained a testing economic background. The strength of these numbers firmly reflects UTV’s commitment to deliver innovative programming across platforms, driving audience share while at the same time effectively managing costs within the business and paying down our debt facilities. We remain committed to our strategy of delivering value through the development of a diversified portfolio of leading media assets. I am confident this foundation will see the business continue to perform into 2012.”