UTV Media plc has reported pre-tax profits of £1m for the first six months of 2015 – down from £10m a year earlier.

Group revenue, however, was actually slightly better than last year at £58.3mln, versus £57.8mln last year, and the broadcaster is maintaining its first half dividend at the same level as in 2014, at 1.82p per share.

UTV Media plc is the United Kingdom based company engaged in g broadcasting and digital media assets across radio and television divisions.

The group admitted that turnover in UTV Ireland was below expectations “as a result of a slower build in audience numbers”.

“In the first six months, UTV Ireland’s share of commercial impacts was 11.4pc, compared to our original forecast of approximately 15pc”.

Mr Huntingford added that “teething issues”, including the re-tuning of domestic digital receivers, had added to “audience underdelivery”. Television operates UTV, the Channel 3 public service broadcast license for Northern Ireland and UTV Ireland, a new dedicated television channel for the Republic of Ireland.

The company said that the channels progress is “closely linked” to the performance of ITV PLC’s programming, as it is the mainstay of its output, and noted that ” there are new series scheduled for the autumn which have been favourably commented upon”.

This decrease resulted from a “significant cut” in advertising spending by Northern Ireland government departments. Incorporating the results of Tibus and Simply Zesty, operating profit in the division was £4.2 million, as against £4.9 million a year earlier.

In radio the company, which owns talkSPORT and other stations, made £7.9mln on £34.6mln of revenue.

The reduced figure can largely be attributed to the launch of the company’s southern station UTV Ireland, which lost £7.5 million since it began broadcasting in January.

In the province, he warned that the budget impasse was expected to “create a drag on our Northern Ireland television advertising revenue from Belfast in the third quarter”.