Fitch affirms ITV

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed ITV plc's issuer default rating at BBB-, along with its senior unsecured debt rating at BBB- and its short-term rating at F3.

The outlook is stable.

ITV's 2006 results showed a decline in operating profit from 2005 of 19% and falls in ITV1 share of commercial impacts of 3.9 percentage points, which will result in further declines in ITV1 advertising revenues in 2007, the agency said.

The rating and outlook reflect ITV's strengths, which include its-scale, strong brand and production business, Fitch said. These assets provide a sound basis for a turnaround of ITV's financial performance in the medium term. In the short term, the group has good financial flexibility with balance sheet cash of £961 million in 2006 sufficient to cover maturities of £450 million in 2007 and £250 million in 2009 and an unutilized £450 million bank facility that expires in 2011.

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