Carlton Communications Plc, which has a now rather vestigial hardware and computer software business, reported a 33% jump in pre-tax profits to ?73m on turnover up 40% to ?659m. The first six months have shown good growth, said chairman Michael Green. We are optimistic the continuing economic recovery will benefit all the divisions and the prospects for the next six months remain encouraging. The one downer in the figures was the video and sound products divison, led by the Quantel business making video generation systems for television operators. Pre-tax profit halved to ?6m, partly due to some one-off costs. Carlton said new products in the division meant it was more optimistic about the current half. Net debt at the end of the period, after the acquisition of Central Television, was ?95.9m. Carlton’s shares were off 36 pence at 887p, but that was seen more as a reflection of the market as a whole rather than a specific response to what look like very good figures for what is now a UK commercial television leader.
