Pan-European producer and broadcaster RTL, owner of Channel Five, has reported a 2.5% fall in operating profits in the first half of 2008 due to a slowdown in advertising and "adverse" currency fluctuations.

RTL, owner of The X Factor and The Bill producer FremantleMedia, reported earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of €502m (£398m), a 2.5% year-on-year drop, in the six months to the end of June.

Revenue for the period fell by 0.9% to €2.86bn with net profits up 9.2% to €391m.

FremantleMedia reported a "solid" performance in the first half, with operating profit up 6.6% to €97m.

The RTL Group chief executive, Gerhard Zeiler, said that the results showed how "reliable" the group's business model is "despite a slowdown in several advertising markets".

Zeiler was cautious about the immediate future, saying that overall there was an expectation that the second half of the year was expected to be worse than the first six months.

"We expect that the advertising market conditions will continue to be mixed across Europe, combined with low visibility," he said in a statement. "However, given the strength of our business we remain confident for the outcome of the full year."

In a conference call to analysts and media he added: "The overall consensus in the market is that the second half won't be better than the first half."

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