TELEVISION shopping giant QVC has reported a strong finish to the year, with fourth-quarter sales more than double the annual improvement – helped by the switchover to digital TV.

The US-owned business employs 1,385 staff at its Knowsley base dealing with telephone inquiries, warehousing and distribution.

In the year to the end of 2009, the UK business, part of Liberty Media Corporation, achieved a 2.3% improvement in net sales of £367.9m, compared with £359.7m in 2008. Fourth-quarter net sales showed a 5.9% increase to £112.2m, against £105.9m previously.

Selective figures released by the company do not include pre-tax profits, but, in the most recent accounts filed at Companies House for QVC for the year to December 31, 2008, the UK operation made a pre-tax profit of £19.92m.

That compares with a pre-tax profit of £27.15m in the year to the end of 2007.

However, the company is yet to file its 2009 accounts, which would show how pre-tax profits compared with its 2008 performance.

Meanwhile, a filing in New York last week by parent company Liberty Media Corporation revealed that revenues for QVC’s global operations last year – broadcast to 166m homes worldwide including the UK – grew by 14% to $2.4bn and, excluding exceptional items, operating income before costs was up 27% at $530m.

The company report for 2008 revealed that sales were benefiting from the penetration of Freeview, which carries the QVC channel, and would be new to homes that previously only received an analogue TV signal.

As the UK’s TV regions continue to make the digital switchover, QVC’s penetration will increase even more.

Online revenues for the UK business are also improving and last December accounted for 20.65% of all sales. Kirkby is the powerhouse for all QVC’s UK business, and last year a total of 13.6m items were shipped from the site, which also handled 15.1m phone calls.