UK media concern Carlton Communications has reported a fall in first-half profit amidst a depressed advertising market and has halved its dividend.

Advertising revenues fell by 6.3%, compared to an 8% growth in the same period last year. Carlton, a major shareholder in UK commercial TV network, said it could not predict an upturn.

Carlton's decision to slash its divided to 4 cents per share follows the sale late last year of film processing unit Technicolor to France's Thomson Multimedia for $2.07 billion. Technicolor accounted for around half of sales revenue.

Pre-tax profit before digital spending and without Technicolor fell to $94m in the six months to March 31 from an equivalent $139m.