UTV reported increased profits of £8.5 million (€12.48 million) for the first six months this year despite a slump in TV advertising revenues.
UTV, which is part of the ITV network, saw a 5 per cent boost in pre-tax profits to £8.5 million for the six months to June 30th after a strong performance in radio advertising made up for losses in TV revenues.
The group, which runs radio stations including Talksport and Dublin's Q102, saw like-for-like radio advertising grow 16 per cent in the United Kingdom and Ireland despite a 3 per cent decline in the market.
It also offered optimism in the struggling TV sector, where it recorded a 6 per cent drop in revenues but did better than the wider ITV network, which suffered an 8 per cent decline.