Results round-up

ITV's revenue growth slowed in the latter part of the first half of the year and, as the broadcaster cautioned that television advertising is likely to be down in the third quarter, it hiked the interim dividend 26% to 2.4p to keep investor's glued.

Total revenues grew 12% to £1.7bn for the six months to 30 June, down from the 14% growth in the first quarter despite continued strong non-advertising growth.

Net advertising revenue (NAR) was flat at £838m over the half, as the company had predicted at its first quarter update in May, but with viewers switching increasingly to the BBC over the period of the summer Olympics, ITV foresees NAR falling 1% over the first nine months of the year.

The share of viewing (SOV) was up 3% for the 'family' of ITV channels helped by a 7% gain for the main channel, ITV One, which benefited from sporting events such as the Six Nations Rugby and the Euro Football Championships, as well as drama including The Durrells, Marcella and Vera along with an improved daytime schedule.

Half year sales from the Online, Pay & Interactive division were up 26% to £107m, accelerating in the second quarter.

Audience demand for video on demand continued to grow, driving a 14% increase in long form video requests and a 50% increase in consumption.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said the UK decision to leave the European Union in the month since the referendum vote had not impacted on trading as it reported a 12% percent rise in first-half pre-tax profits to £267m.

"One month on from the EU Referendum, current trading remains in line with normal seasonal patterns. Customer interest continues to be high, with a good level of visitors both to our developments and to our website," chief executive Pete Redfern said.

“We are monitoring customer confidence closely across a number of metrics, including appointment bookings, and these continue to be solid.”

“Whilst it is still too early to assess what the longer term impact from the Referendum result on the housing market may be, we are encouraged by the first month's trading and by continued competitive lending from the mortgage providers as well as the positive commentary from government and policymakers.

Redfern said forward sales were around 90% with a “strong order book which has grown to over £2.2bn as at 24 July”.