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Carlton FY profit up 8%
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December 5, 2000: 4:13 a.m. ET
U.K. TV broadcaster in talks to sell half of company; ad outlook upbeat
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LONDON (CNNfn) - British television broadcaster Carlton Communications PLC said Tuesday it was in talks to sell the half of the company that handles film imaging and processing, and might wrap up a deal by the end of the year.
Carlton, which also announced a 7.9 percent rise in annual profit, in line with analysts' expectations, said that despite a "subdued" advertising market, the outlook for the medium term was positive.
The company said that its "headline" pretax profit for the year – excluding costs of investment in digital media, losses from discontinued businesses and one-time items - rose to £342.2 million ($496 million) from £317.2 million the previous year. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecasts of between £325 and £341 million.
Taking account of all the negative items excluded from the headline profit, Carlton fell to a pretax loss of £241.9 million from year-earlier profit of £152.4 million. The downturn came as the costs and losses associated with new media rose by about £100 million, and the sale of two unwanted unit involved in making TV video and sound production equipment threw up a £328 million loss.
 Overall revenue increased 7.8 percent to £2.08 billion, of which Technicolor – the film imaging and processing unit that's now up for sale – contributed £1.06 billion. The company reported gains advertising revenue in the first three quarters rose and higher sales from its program production business.
The net loss came to £267.6 million, or a negative 43 pence a share, compared with a profit of £94.5 million, or 13.1 pence a share, a year earlier.
Advertising revenue generated via the U.K. Independent Television (ITV) network increased 8.8 percent to £692 million, but demand for advertising time weakened in the fourth quarter.
"While the television advertising market is currently subdued, the medium term outlook remains positive," Gerry Murphy, chief executive, said in a statement.
Shares in Carlton (CCM) jumped 3.8 percent to 545 pence in early London trade.
Carlton said it was in talks with a strategic buyer for Technicolor, which it put up for sale earlier in the year. If negotiations were successful, the company aimed to conclude a deal by the end of the year, Chairman Michael Green said in a statement 
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Carlton Communications
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