TV Corp upbeat despite profit plunge

Nick Goodway12 April 2012

A YEAR that saw massive restructuring, a disastrous foray into power boat racing and the sudden departure of chief executive Chris Rowlands left Television Corporation nursing a hefty pre-tax loss but in a position to say that 'future prospects are excellent'.

Having had too many eggs in the post-production basket where there was too much reliance on the waning advertising market, TV Corp decided to concentrate on its own programme production, ranging from Channel 4 Cricket through Robot Wars to Question Time.

'We are now much more efficient, with little exposure to advertising revenue and a clear focus on creating and exploiting our television production skills. The future looks very bright,' said chairman Terry Bates. 'The demand for the programming we specialise in - sports, factual and entertainment - remains strong and we are very successfully expanding our operations internationally and regionally within the UK. Current trading is very good and in line with market expectations.'

Those expectations were dashed in October last year with the shock departure of Rowlands and a warning that the City should expect a 'modest profit before amortisation of goodwill' rather than the £7m it had forecast earlier.

In the event, profit fell from £4.9m to just £800,000 before amortisation, tax and one-off costs. The bottom line pre-tax loss was £2.9m compared with a profit of £4.6m. But turnover soared 76% to £77.3m with content and programme production accounting for 60% of revenues.

It has written off £2.2m following its decision to pull out of Class One offshore powerboating after failing to find a sponsor.

During the year, production subsidiary Sunset & Vine's contract with Channel 4 Cricket was extended for three years to 2005. The 2001 season saw the introduction of the Hawk-Eye ball-tracking system, which was developed with Siemens' Roke Manor Research facility and is now being applied to other sports including tennis, baseball and snooker.

Robot Wars continued to be a massive success on both sides of the Atlantic with its eighth series in Britain and second in the US. Son of Robot Wars in the shape of Techno Games is making its fourth series after two were broadcast last year.

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