The Share Centre recommends investors tune in to ITV

This morning ITV announced interim results ahead of expectation, however early morning trading saw the share price fall 3%. Nick Raynor, investment adviser at The Share Centre explains what this means for investors.

"These are good results for ITV and are ahead of expectations. Not only has the broadcaster announced a profit of £97m compared to a loss of £105m at interim results last year, they also reduced net debt from £612m at the end of 2009 to £437m. Turnover was also up 8.6% to £987m.

"However, investors will be disappointed by the market's reaction to these results, as early morning trading saw the share price fall 3%. We would have expected to see a better reaction and encourage investors to take advantage of the weakness in price and consider the broadcaster as an addition to their portfolio.

"ITV has generally been regarded as being left behind in the changing world of television and new technology. The announcement of a five year strategy to reduce its dependency on advertising and move into the world of internet based platforms, high definition and pay TV looks encouraging for future growth.

"For the second half of 2010, the outlook looks promising.  The broadcaster predicts the advertising sector will continue to recover in to Q3, as national advertising revenue is forecast to increase 15%. 

"Investors willing to accept a higher degree of risk may wish to consider ITV, especially as we watch to see how its move toward pay television for high definition versions of its channels plays out."