ITV a buy for medium risk investors though future growth may be more ‘conservative’

Otmane El Rhazi from Mindful Money » Shares.

ITV continued to rebalance its business successfully with the broadcaster saying it was on track for another strong performance this year as net profits rose to £275m in the six months to 30th June. Revenue from external sources rose by 11% to £1.36bn as chief executive Adam Crozier transforms the group and he continues to ‘grow and rebalance the company creatively and commercially’.

Graham Spooner, investment research analyst at The Share Centre says: “Analysts have been encouraged by the improvement at ITV’s Studios business, as it continues to see a significant increase in new commissions and its digital offering. As a result, investors should note that ITV Studios saw revenue increase by 23% to £496m during the period.

“With so many options now available to consumers ITV has had to fight hard to maximise its audience share. In a fast changing environment, the changes that have been made in the group appear to have come in time to save what was once a troubled company. The debt situation has been addressed which has enabled the group to make a number of acquisitions, geared towards boosting its production business further and enabling strong dividend growth.

“As a result, we recommended ITV as a ‘buy’ for medium risk, growth seeking investors. Since we moved to a ‘buy’ recommendation on the shares in late 2009, the share price has risen by around 675%. Investors should therefore be aware that future growth is likely to be more conservative.”