BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has been ordered by John Smith, the corporation’s new chief operating officer, to double profits within two years. 

In the 12 months to 31 March, BBC Worldwide made a profit of £37m out of turnover of £657m - a margin of just under 6 per cent - according to figures quoted in Ariel, the BBC's in-house weekly. 

"After a period of focus on sales growth and cash flow, now is the time for a profit focus,” Smith told Ariel. “The profit is only £37m and that's low given the size of the business. Profit declined by £8m last year so now's the time to focus more on profit," Mr Smith added. 

In 2003/2004, BBC Worldwide contributed £141m to the BBC to be used for public service broadcasting, equivalent to nearly £6 per licence fee payer, of which half came from international activities.

http://www.bbcworldwide.com/

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