26
November 2024
Trading
Update
· Performance in
line with market expectations for full year despite continued
challenging advertising and commissioning market
conditions
· STV Studios
continues to perform well; the forward orderbook remains strong at
£92m (31 October)
· Q3 Total
Advertising Revenue (TAR) (before commission) ahead of guidance, up
5%
· Q4 TAR expected
to be down c.10% vs strong comparators that included the Rugby
World Cup
· Full year 2024
TAR (before commission) expected to be up 2-3%
· Cost savings plan
on track to deliver at least £1.5m savings in FY24
Rufus Radcliffe, STV Chief
Executive, said:
"I
joined STV on 1 November and have been very impressed by its strong
foundations and prospects for future growth. I've been struck by
the creativity, dynamism and commitment of the team and I look
forward to working closely with them to build on recent
successes.
There's no doubt that we continue to operate against a
challenging advertising and commissioning backdrop, and we will
continue to take action to mitigate against that where
possible.
The acquisition strategy in STV Studios is helping us to
deliver in a tough market, with new commissions secured for
original formats since our interim results.
We
expect the full year TAR to be up 2-3%, boosted by the Euros
earlier this year. The winter schedule brings the return of
entertainment juggernaut, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, and
The 1% Club. And looking further ahead, we have a strong drama
offering at the start of 2025 on STV and STV
Player."
Commentary
·
STV Group plc ("STV") today confirms performance
remains in line with market expectations, despite ongoing weakness
in the linear TV advertising and commissioning markets.
·
STV Studios continues to trade well, winning
commissions despite constrained budgets and delivering for our
customers in a continued inflationary environment. The
forward orderbook sits at £92m at the end of
October, with the division having delivered revenue of £24m and won
commissions with a value of £15m since end July.
·
Following confirmation of multiple commissions in
Q3, including a second series of global drama, Criminal Record, for Apple TV+, STV
Studios labels have secured further orders in Q4 to date.
These include two original new formats for wholly-owned label
Crackit TV - Crime Scene
Cleaners (10 x 60") for Channel 4 and Hunting Britain's Bedroom Predators (3
x 90") for Channel 5. Both series will be delivered in
2025.
·
Q3 TAR (before commission) was up 5%, stronger
than guided.
·
Q4 TAR year on year performance is impacted by
strong comparators that include the Rugby World Cup and so is
expected to be down c.10%. Total Advertising Revenue (before
commission) is expected to be up around 2-3% for the full year.
·
Following the success of Brookside
and Disney drama titles, STV Player continues to
acquire key content and is now the only place where UK viewers can
stream Irish police soap drama Red
Rock, from start to finish for free.
Since its launch in mid-September, Red Rock
has delivered 2m hours of viewing and is currently
the best performing title on STV Player this year, after the
soaps.
·
There continues to be a strong focus on cost
control across the business. STV's 3-year cost savings plan is on
course to deliver at least £1.5m of savings in 2024 and hit the
target £5m annual run rate by the end of 2026, as previously
guided.
ENDS
Enquiries:
STV
Group plc:
Kirstin Stevenson, Head of
Communications, Tel: 07803 970106
Camarco:
Geoffrey Pelham-Lane, Tel: 07733 124
226
Ben Woodford, Tel:
07790 653 341