Shares were down 3.6% to 240p by late morning on Wednesday, for a market cap of £9.7bn.
Total external revenue for the year to the end of December was up 15% to £2.97bn from £2.59bn in 2014 while there was a 6% rise in net advertising revenue to £1.71bn.
Earnings per share were up 20% to 16.5p, the full year dividend was raised 28% to 6p and an additional 10p per share special dividend was announced.
Head of UK equities at Aviva Investors Trevor Green, who is a top 15 shareholder through the funds he oversees, had a nuanced view on the company.
“How investors interpret the results and outlook statement today will depend on whether their time horizon is short or long term,” he said. “If you are of a longer term persuasion, then you will have appreciated the positive message the special dividend sends. This, along with the strong organic growth in studio and the audience share improvement, has reassured that the strategy remains on track with Q2 and onwards forecast to see a bounce back in growth. If, on the other hand, you are only concerned about the here and now, then you will be focused on pedestrian-looking Q1 NAR guidance and a weak April number.”
ITV has regularly been pointed to as a likely takeover target in recent times, with American buyers including Comcast and Liberty Global seen as most likely to bid.
“[The 2015] figures are 2% above forecast at earnings per share level mainly due to better broadcast margin,” said Investec analyst Steve Liechti.
“The outlook for 1Q is worse than we expected, and we had already cut, so bad for the bulls, but the special dividend of 10p/share is positive, while not in our numbers, this was widely anticipated however,” he continued. “We remain at ‘hold’ – persistent take-over speculation in the media and retransmission fees imply some support though we see mid-term TV structural challenges and ITV specific issues.”
