UTV's radio operations in Ireland, and in the UK, had flat advertising sales for the first six months of its year, though it said it expected this to pick up later in the year.
Overall, radio operating profits increased 7% to £6.8m after deducting start up costs of £1.3m in two stations in Belfast and Edinburgh.
Television operating profits were flat at £5.6m, and new media operating profit rose 25% to £0.6m. Television advertising revenue fell by 1%. Total group pre-tax profits were up 8% to £9.3m.
Chief executive John McCann said that radio now contributes 55% of group revenues, and while the performance of Irish radio in its second quarter was disappointing, UTV had taken steps to address this.
He said he remained confident that UTV would experience growth in its UK and Irish radio advertising markets and television should start to benefit from better programming.
'While we expect market conditions to remain challenging, we remain confident that we will continue to deliver solid earnings growth', he said.
