Mexican broadcaster Televisa's shares soar after vow to accelerate buybacks

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Shares of Mexican broadcaster Televisa <TLEVISACPO.MX> soared on Friday morning after the company's executives expressed frustration with the low share price and said they would explore stepping up buybacks.

Shares of Televisa, the world's largest producer of Spanish-language video content, were trading up more than 8% on Friday morning.

During a call with analysts to discuss the company's third-quarter results, Alfonso de Angoitia, Televisa's co-chief executive, said the company was disappointed it could not buy back more shares during the quarter but would be more active going forward.

"We continue to see value in our shares," he said. "We are looking at alternatives that will allow us to accelerate repurchases."

Televisa on Thursday reported a third-quarter net profit of 755.2 million pesos ($38 million), down nearly 23% compared to the same period last year. The company attributed the drop to higher financial costs.

Televisa and other media companies have been grappling with a reduction in government advertising spending since Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in December.

During the call, de Angoitia said the company expected government advertising to be down about 50% over the course of the year, but he added that there were signs spending was picking up again.

(Reporting by Julia Love and Noe Torres; Editing by Frances Kerry)