TV3 reduces debts in quest for profitability

The Republic's first national independent commercial broadcaster, TV3, is still haemorrhaging around €5 million a year up to August last year but is on the road profitability, according to accounts submitted to the Companies Registration Office.

Whilst turnover for the year from January to August recorded revenues of around €13.2 million, huge operating costs of €15.3 million soaked all that up – leading to €2.1 million loss for the year. Interest levied on debt repayments bumped that figure up to around €3.5 million.

TV3 has experienced tough times of late, and whilst the figures for August indicate a loss, it is on a much smaller scale than losses recorded in 1999 (€16 million) and 2000 (€11 million). The company is said to be heading in the right direction and may even be operating at profit at the moment.

Management say that TV3 had succeeded in meeting all its targets for the year and, in view of the advertising malaise at present, the directors believed that the overall performance of the company was satisfactory.

However, as TV3 experiences financial difficulties, conversely its chairman, James Morris, is enjoying €3 million windfall in exchange for the 10% of TV3 shares he held before its buy-out by CanWest and Granada plc. The total amount paid to directors to the eight months ending in August was €210,000.

The present owner of TV3, CanWest Granada Media Holdings, the holding company for CanWest and Granada plc, has the company as comprising net assets of €65 million compared to borrowings of €40 million.

(GMcG)