The loss of £179.4m for the six months to March 31 was down from £277.3m last year. The loss includes a £99m exceptional charge resulting from the closure of ITV Digital and ITV Sport. Carlton said it had not made any provision in its books for paying the Football League the £178.5m it is currently being sued for alongside fellow ITV company Granada.
Carlton has seen earnings fall by 41% to £43.7m. It recorded pre-exceptional earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £43.7m, compared with £74.6m for the same period last year. It also saw group operating profit tumble by 61% from £43.5m last year to £16.8m this year.
As expected, the results were more positive on the second half of the year, with the company saying there are early signs of a recovery in demand for advertising.
Michael Green, chairman of Carlton, said: "We believe that Carlton should continue to explore opportunities for growth in multichannel television and we are confident that the UK will continue to pioneer the development of digital television."
Shares in Carlton rose this morning, buoyed by yesterday's news that it, along with Granada, had signed a £320m deal with Unilever for four years' advertising on ITV. Its shares rose by 4.35p, or 1.6%, when the market opened this morning to trade at 263.25p.
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