CTC Media gains from ad growth, but profits slip

Russian broadcaster CTC Media reported a 10% increase in operating revenues in the second quarter thanks to ad market growth in the country, but saw net income slip by 7% year-on-year.

The firm said that revenues for the quarter were US$206 million (€155 million), up 10% in dollar terms and 13% in ruble terms, reflecting an approximate 11% growth in the Russian ad market.

Some 97% of CTC’s total operating revenue came from advertising, with CTC Media’s flagship CTC Channel’s reporting a 9% increase in operating revenues in the second quarter in US dollar terms.

The female skewing Domashny Channel saw revenues increase by 18% in dollar terms year-on-year, with gains also recorded at CTC’s Peretz channel and Channel 31 in Kazakhstan.

However, audience share at each of the networks declined year-on-year during the quarter, except at CTC Channel where it went from 10.2% last year to 11.3% this year, thanks to an increased amount of first-run content compared to the second quarter of 2012.

Net income was down 7% year-on-year in dollar terms to US$31.6 million. This marked a 4% decrease in ruble terms.

Commenting on the results, CTC’s newly appointed CEO Yuliana Slashcheva added: “On the digital media front, we are pleased that the CTC channel is among the top five most popular smart TV widgets in Russia, and the reach of the company’s new media projects continues to increase. In the second quarter, the number of unique monthly visitors across all digital platforms on which CTC Media is present averaged 8.7 million, a twofold increase year-on-year.”