THE chief executive of STV has declared the broadcaster now has the right structure in place to take it forward after its controversial move to slash 59 jobs and close a loss-making digital channel in May.

Simon Pitts axed 34 journalist posts and a further 25 roles with the closure of STV2 within weeks of succeeding Rob Woodward in January.

The move was heavily criticised by the National Union of Journalists and MSPs amid concern it would reduce the depth and breadth of news coverage for viewers.

Reporting its interim results yesterday, STV said it had made a provision of £7.8 million in the first half in relation to the restructuring, which included a non-cash write-down of stock and assets of £4.9m.

STV also made a non-cash provision of £4.2m in the first half relating to funds it is owed by the company which runs the Scottish Children’s Lottery.

In total, STV booked exceptional items of £12.8m in the first half which contributed to the broadcaster reporting a statutory loss of £4.3m, compared with a £7.5m profit at the same stage last year. Before exceptional items, pre-tax profits climbed by eight per cent to £9.4m.

Asked if the firm would have handled the restructuring differently in hindsight, given the criticism that met the cuts, Mr Pitts said: “We had to make some tough choices to fund new investment, but there is support for this vision right across STV. Everyone understands that if we are going to thrive, we have to change, we have to embrace digital and we have to get better all of the time.”

Despite the redundancies, Mr Pitts declared STV News is “beating the BBC”, claiming a of 31 per cent share of viewers. It will launch a new 6pm news programme next week.

Mr Pitts added: “That’s a real tribute to the team and bodes well for the future.

“And we are investing heavily in that team, making sure they get the right training to make the best of new technology, to hone camera skills and to embrace digital platforms.”

As part of the restructure, STV has hired Bobby Hain as broadcast managing director, while Richard Williams will join as digital managing director next month. A new managing director of production will be named this month.

Asked whether he believes STV now has the team in place to meet the competition to be provided by the new BBC Scotland news channel, Mr Pitts said: “Absolutely we have got the right structure. We are focusing on the areas that matter and making the very best of our broadcast shop window, which reaches nearly 90% of Scots every week.”

On whether the job cuts were over, he noted the cost savings brought by the restructuring were on target. At the time the restructuring was announced in May, STV said it would save £1m a year by closing STV2, and a similar amount through the revamp of its new strategy.

Mr Pitts said the first-half results reinforced the underlying strength of the business. Overall revenue grew by six per cent to £57.7m, which came amid improved conditions in the advertising market and the boost provided by the World Cup in Russia.

Strong ratings were also recorded on the back of shows such as drama Unforgotten and entertainment programmes such as Britain’s Got Talent.

Mr Pitts said 2.4m matches were streamed on STV online during the World Cup, which had driven a 73% increase in online viewing in the first half.

Digital revenue climbed by 24%.

Revenues from regional advertising grew by 15% at £6.1m, which the company expects to strengthen further in the second half.

STV Productions saw its revenue rise by 42% to £3.7m on the back of an increased schedule of deliveries in early 2018. However, the productions arm remained in the red, booking a first-half loss of £1.2m.

Shares in STV closed down 6.5p at 399p.