Annual report factoids 2

I've had one or two attempts at understanding the BBC Worldwide Annual report. It must be a triumph, because Tim Davie still got a bonus, albeit a tad down on last year, of £201,000.

"Headline profits" are down on last year, with various explanations - 'external headwinds', currency fluctuations, rough times in Russia, bigger spend on marketing and content for new channels. And yet apparently, there's underlying profit growth, if you take out the sale of half of BBC America to AMC networks. My puzzle is that the deal apparently brings in £115.9m, which in my single entry mind, ought to have made things even better this year.

In the detail, there's quite an additional lump of £8m for 'pension deficit reduction'. BBC Store, recently promised for launch in 'late summer', has moved to 'Autumn'.

In the overview, BBC Worldwide has returned £226.5m to the mothership. Chairman Hall says he expects £1bn over five years (which looks flat to me).