Spanish media group Sogecable has posted net consolidated profits of Euros7.5m (pts1.251m) for the first half of 2001, up 262% from Euros2.1m (pts345m) during the same period last year.

The company posted an extraordinary gain of Euros40.5m (pts6.7m) largely derived from the July 2 sale of 45% of rights division Sogepaq to France's StudioCanal.

Sogecable also released new subscription figures for its pay-TV platform Canal Satelite Digital (CSD) and channel Canal Plus. The latter added 78,000 new clients between January and June, while CSD showed a 30% growth over the last 12 months to total 1,177,000 subscribers.

Since the start of 2001, CSD has incorporated five new channels to its offer, including National Geographic Channel, Eurosport News, Fox, Fox News and 40 Latino.

Meanwhile, Sogecable's 21% shareholder, Prisa, saw consolidated net profits drop 16% to Euros42.27m (pts7.033m) compared to the same period last year. A buying spree involving local Spanish TV companies and regional newspapers accounted for the decline. Prisa's overall revenues, however, climbed 12%