For the same period last year, Five reported earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of £1m.
Five's audience share, boosted by its programme mix of football, films and US drama hits such as 'CSI' and 'The Shield', rose to 6.9% from 6.5% for the six months ending June 30. Its advertising market share also rose, up from 7.8% to 8%.
Parent company RTL Group unveiled the figures as part of its interim results this morning, saying that earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation across the whole company rose by 56.9% to €397m (£267m), with revenue of €2.5bn.
Gerhard Zeiler, chief executive officer of RTL, said: "RTL Television reconfirmed its leading position in Germany, M6 outperformed its market in France, and Five once again grew market share in the UK."
He added: "For the remainder of 2004, we continue to see mixed advertising market conditions across Europe with visibility remaining limited. Despite this, we remain confident on the outcome for the full year."
The company also owns the production company FremantleMedia, which makes 'Pop Idol' and 'How Clean Is Your House?', as well as 26 television stations and 24 radio stations in nine countries.
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