FTSE 250 media firm Entertainment One PLC (LON:ETO) has issued a “steady as she goes” half-year trading update.
The Peppa Pig licence owner said trading in the six months to the end of September has been consistent with trends outlined at the start of the financial year.
READ: Peppa Pig the star performer once again for Entertainment One as profits climb
The group said it expects the full-year financial performance will be in line with management expectations, with a similar first half/second half weighting to the previous fiscal year.
Peppa Pig, Dr Dre and DJ Khaled in the same RNS...
Entertainment One is truly down with the kids in today's trading update:https://t.co/cUYhQa5EjF
$2bn library valuation. £64m impairment charge, mostly linked to assets in film distribution business.
— Daniel Coatsworth (@SharesMagDan) September 27, 2018
The Family & Brands division continues to perform strongly, helped by the delivery of new episodes of Peppa Pig to broadcasters this year.
The annual independent library valuation has been completed and the value of the group's library assets has increased to US$2.0 billion as at 31 March 2018 from US$1.7bn a year earlier, driven by a broad improvement across the group's Family & Brands and Television operations.
"Entertainment One continues to execute its strategy to build a portfolio of the highest quality content. We continue to seek out strong creative partnerships, in line with our vision of building the leading talent-driven entertainment company in the world. Our momentum remains strong, supported by long-term industry trends and new territorial opportunities,” said Darren Throop, the chief executive of Entertainment One.
“The group's ongoing commitment to investing in its content portfolio has driven current year earnings and created future value, reflected in another increase in the independent library valuation.
“The financial performance of the business remains in line with management expectations for the year,” he added.
Shares in Entertainment One were 1.4p lower in early deals at 380.8p.