Sharewatch: ITV Rises As Burt Puts Confidence In Allen

ITV saw a slight rise in share price yesterday amid a poor performance by its peers. The broadcast giant climbed by 0.24% to close at 104žp in what was a tricky day’s trading yesterday, following a pledge to shareholders by company chairman Peter Burt that chief executive Charles Allen was not about to be ousted from the top spot at the broadcaster (see Burt Underlines Commitment To Allen As Chief Executive).

Speaking to investors and company staff Burt also quashed rumours that former BBC chief executive, Greg Dyke, is being groomed as Allen’s replacement. Burt stated: “I haven’t spoken to Greg Dyke for months and I have no plans to speak to him. I have no intention of appointing Dyke as chief executive.”

Elsewhere, advertising powerhouses Aegis and WPP managed to secure rises of 1.49% and 0.29% respectively. The latest Bellwether Report released last month revealed continuing buoyancy in the UK’s marketing sector, with final data for 2003 showing the steepest rise in marketing spend since the survey began, along with improved confidence amongst top marketing executives (see Market Recovery Continuing For UK Advertisers).

In radio, Capital continued to suffer, dipping by 0.35% to close at 429˝p. Last week saw the company’s flagship Capital radio station perform badly in the latest RAJAR results, with high-profile breakfast host Johnny Vaughan failing to increase listenership in his first few months at the show’s helm (see RAJAR Results Q2 2004: Vaughan Fails To Boost Capital).

The FTSE 100 put in a less than sparkling performance yesterday, rising by just 0.1% to 4,415.7, while the FTSE 250 slipped by the same amount to 6014.6 due to record highs in crude oil prices sparked by fresh terror attack warnings.

The closing prices of media company shares on Monday were: