TV3's majority shareholder, CanWest, earned €5.5 million in operating profits from its Irish subsidiary in the nine months to the end of May, it reported yesterday.

Figures released by the Canadian media giant show that during the first three quarters of its financial year, which ends in August, the State's only commercial television station, TV3, contributed €16.6 million to the company's revenue compared with €16.3 million during the same period in 2003.

The company states that TV3, in which it has a 45 per cent stake, contributed €5.5 million to operating profit during the nine-month period, compared with €5.3 million in the same period of 2003.

In the three months to the end of last May, TV3 contributed €5.8 million to revenues, compared with €5.2 million last year. The Irish company's contribution to operating profits was €1.8 million in the quarter, against €1.65 million in 2003.

TV3's Irish parent, CanWest Granada Media Holdings, recently reported that it had €1 million operating profits from revenues of €41.4 million in the year to August 31st, 2003.

Last night it issued a statement saying that the results of CanWest in Ireland include other partially or wholly-owned interests, and adds that extrapolation of the Canadian group's results will not produce the results of the TV operating company, TV3 Television Network Ltd. TV3 does not comment on CanWest's financial results.

However, the CanWest figures released yesterday attribute all television revenues and operating profits from Ireland to TV3 and do not list any other entity.

Last month, CanWest sold its 29.9 per cent stake in UTV for €89 million. It expects this to result in a gain of close to €31 million.

CanWest's statement and accounts for the three and nine-month periods make no other reference to UTV.