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Investing.com -- Shares of ITV PLC (LON:ITV) climbed 5% today after the company reported its full-year 2024 results, which aligned with market expectations.
The broadcaster announced total revenue of £4.14 billion, a slight decrease of 3% from the previous year, while group adjusted EBITA rose 11% to £542 million, matching the consensus estimate.
The revenue mix showcased a record profit from ITV Studios with robust margins of 14.7%, buoyed by a favorable mix of higher margin catalogue sales.
ITV also declared a final dividend per share of 3.3p, in line with forecasts, leading to nearly £400M in shareholder returns for the year when combined with the share buyback program, which has seen £198M of the planned £235M completed by December 31.
The company’s cost efficiency program is set to continue into 2025, having achieved £60M in savings in 2024, £10M ahead of the planned target. ITV is aiming for an additional £30M in non-content savings for 2025.
Furthermore, the company anticipates a decrease in content expenditure in FY25 due to a lighter sporting calendar, projecting around £1,250m down from £1,268m in FY24.
Looking ahead to FY25, ITV has guided for normalized Studios performance, expecting to return to mid-single-digit growth, outpacing the market with average margins in the 13-15% range, which is seen as "broadly encouraging" by analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).
"We see ITV’s strategy as a rational and disciplined response to a challenging and low-visibility market context, driving revenue and profit growth in 2025," analysts added.