ITV Half annual profit falls 31%
UK Media Giant ITV achieved a decrease of 31% in group adapted EBITA (profit before interest, taxes and amortization) for the first half of 2025, with £ 146 million ($ 198 million), a decrease of £ 213 million ($ 289 million) a year earlier.
The fall was driven by heavy comparisons on an annual basis at a euro-elevated 2024 and a shifting mix in his studios, although managers emphasized that the group’s transformation strategy remains on schedule.
Half of total external turnover fell 1% to £ 1.59 billion ($ 2.16 billion), with a total group turnover of 3% to £ 1.85 billion ($ 2.51 billion), according to interim results released on Thursday.
Despite the drop, ITV-CEO Carolyn McCall said that the broadcaster is “a slimmer, more digital company in a strong position to compete”, stating a double digits in digital advertisements and strong cash generation. ITVX, the streaming platform supported by the advertisement, registered an increase in the digital advertising income of 12% on an annual basis, because streaming hours rose by 15% and monthly active users rose to 16.4 million.
ITV Studios grew external sales by 11% to £ 632 million ($ 857 million) and supplied new script titles for Prime Video (“The Devil’s Hour”), Netflix (“Run Away”) and Peacock (“Love Island USA”). However, the internal income fell due to the absence of the controversial programming of last year, such as “Saturday Night Takeaway” and coverage of the Euro football tournament for men. The total EBITA from Studios fell by 21% to £ 107 million ($ 145 million), with profit and margin weighed to the second half.
In Media & Entertainment (M&E), the total advertisement income decreased by 7% to £ 824 million ($ 1.12 billion), although digital profits helped to limit the damage. The subscription and the income of the partnership also fell, which contributed to a decrease of 8% in the total M&E turnover to £ 955 million ($ 1.3 billion). M&E EBITA fell 54% to £ 35 million ($ 47.5 million), partially filled in by lower contents of contents and £ 23 million in cost savings.
The company marked the growing digital footprint of ITV and upcoming slate – including “cold water”, “Trigger Point” and “Big Brother” – as important drivers for the second half. ITVX now houses more than 26,000 hours of content, including new partnerships with YouTube and Disney+ aimed at reaching younger and wider audience.
The broadcaster declared an interim dividend of 1.7 p per share, in accordance with last year, for around £ 60 million ($ 81.5 million), and repeated its dedication to a normal dividend of at least 5p.
Cost-saving remains central in the Forward strategy of ITV. The company announced an extra £ 15 million ($ 20.36 million) in non-content savings, which brought the total 2025 to £ 45 million ($ 61 million), although achieving this will yield a one-off costs of £ 40 million ($ 54.3 million). Exceptional costs for the entire year are now expected to reach £ 100 million ($ 135.7 million), more than double earlier guidelines, due to transformation-related expenses and M&A linked costs.
The net debt was £ 586 million ($ 796 million) at the end of June, an increase of £ 515 million at the same point last year. Profit to cash conversion reached 109% on a rolling basis of 12 months, with a free cash flow for H1 for £ 43 million ($ 58 million).
Despite the constant uncertainty in the macro environment, ITV said that the confidence remains in achieving good sales growth in both studios and ITVX, with margins that improve in the second half. “We are on our way to supplying our 2026 important financial goals,” said McCall, “in combination with strategic cost management, while we reform our cost -basis to reflect the dynamics of the industry in which we are active.”
