Northern Ireland's biggest broadcaster UTV Media said profit rose 24 per cent in 2009 as finance costs fell and the company sold unprofitable units and cut jobs.
Net income increased to £11.1 million from £8.98 million a year earlier, the Belfast-based company said today. Sales fell 6 per cent to £112 million.
Continued weakness in the Irish market also affected television advertising revenue, the company said.
Advertisers cut budgets in 2009 amid a recession in the UK and Ireland, UTV's two main markets. Finance costs fell 29 per cent to £5.8 million while a cost reduction program that included job cuts saved 6 million last year, UTV said. Exceptional costs fell 87 per cent to £600,000.
"Uncertainty in the economy impacts negatively on advertisers' expenditure," UTV said in the statement. "However trading in the first few weeks of 2010 has been more encouraging with the UK television market, in particular, showing some signs of improvement."
Bloomberg