ITV says Brexit has sparked “uncertainty” in the UK advertising market
ITV is on track for good profit growth, despite the slow UK advertising market as a result of Britain's possible untangling from the European Union.
It said that advertising revenue is expected to be "broadly flat" in the first half of 2016, having slumped 13 per cent last month.
"ITV is now a much stronger and more diverse business and we expect to deliver good profit growth in the first half," Adam Crozier, chief executive of ITV, said in a trading update today.
This is against the backdrop of uncertainty in the UK advertising market, which we have experienced since the debate over Brexit began, and significantly higher share of our programme spend in the first six months."
Britons are gearing up to vote in the in/out referendum taking place on 23 June, however surveys have shown that the consequent uncertainty is hitting businesses.
A string of economic indicators have suggested that the UK economy is slowing, but it's unclear how much of this is down to Brexit, rather than underlying fundamentals.
ITV's total revenue rose 14 per cent to £755m in the three months ended 31 March, compared to £665m during the same period a year ago.
Broadcast and online revenue swelled two per cent, while earnings from its ITV studios production business jumped 44 per cent.