Shareholders in UTV Media are in line for a 17% increase in their annual dividend, despite the Belfast-based broadcasting group suffering a 10% fall in profits for 2012.

UTV Media has said that its Irish radio division has “significantly” outperform- ed the market so far this year, despite revenues showing a 6% annualised decline.

UTV Media is anticipating further growth in its Irish radio division after seeing underlying revenues rise by 1% in the first four months of this year.

THE first four months of the year saw a 5% year-on-year fall in revenue in UTV’s Irish radio operations, partially driven by exchange rate fluctuations.

UTV has said it remains open to expanding its radio portfolio — here and in Britain — on the back of record financial growth for the group, last year.

FOLLOWING the publication of my book, Haughey’s Forty Years of Controversy, I was invited on the late Gerry Ryan’s radio programme. I assumed the interview would be for about 12 minutes. I had done a couple of other interviews with him previously about Éamon de Valera, but we were in separate studios for each of those and had never actually met before.

THE Republic-based radio portfolio of UTV Media – the Belfast-based broadcast media group – has continued to be one of the best performing divisions of the group into 2009, just as it was last year.

UTV has reported H108 results this morning, announcing operating profit of £14.5m (€18.254m) and adjusted earnings per share 13.7c.

EAMON DUNPHY will finally get to have “The Last Word” after announcing he is to quit his popular radio drive-time show on Today FM.