(Reuters) - Australian television network Nine Entertainment <NEC.AX> on Thursday reported a 55 percent rise in underlying profit in the first half of its fiscal year, helped by a boost in market share from improved ratings.
Net profit after tax, excluding one-off items, rose to A$116.2 million ($90.66 million) during the period, from A$75 million a year earlier. Analysts at Citigroup had forecast an interim profit of A$72 million.
The TV network posted an interim dividend of 5 Australian cents per share, compared to 4.5 Australian cents from a year earlier.
"This was a strong half for Nine, across our entire business. Positive Free To Air TV ratings momentum combined with our focus on the 25-54 year demographics is translating to improving revenue share," said Chief Executive Hugh Marks.
Including one-off items, the company reported a statutory profit of A$174.1 million as opposed to a loss of A$236.9 million in the same period a year ago, helped by gains on the sale of Nine's Willoughby site, initially announced in 2015.
Half-year revenue excluding one-off items rose 9 percent to A$723.9 million.
Nine said it expects full year EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation) to fall between A$237 million and A$261 million, which it said was the average and the top of the range of analysts' current estimates
(Reporting by Syed Saif Hussain Naqvi in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)
