Sharewatch: Capital Dips As Radio Wars Take Their Toll

Capital Radio saw shares dip by 7.64% yesterday to close at 435p after the company, one of the country’s leading commercial broadcasters, lost market share at its core London station. The loss coincided with the departure of veteran breakfast show present Chris Tarrant and the arrival of Johnny Vaughan as his replacement (see RAJAR Results Q2 2004: Vaughan Fails To Boost Capital).

The publication of official audience ratings from RAJAR yesterday put the rest of the radio sector in focus. Chrysalis rose by 1.27% to close at 199˝ after a strong performance for its flagship Heart station in London, Emap climbed 2.21 higher and Scottish Media Group increased by 0.25%.

Meanwhile, Trinity Mirror saw shares rise by a healthy 4.17% after revealing that pre-tax profits rose by 27% from £80.4 million £101.8 million in the first half of the year, while advertising revenue grew by 5% overall. Turnover rose by 6% from £542.1 million to £572.7 million in the same period (see Strong Performance From Trinity Mirror Despite Mirror Fiasco).

United Business Media also performed well with stock rising by 7.74% after delivering a strong set of results that beat expectations. The group said that operating profit was up nearly 52%, pushed on by a significant turnaround from its technology and health care division, CMP Media (see United Business Media Sees Operating Profit Jump By 52%).

The FTSE 100 added 1.43 to close at 4,418.7, its highest level four a month, with the mid-cap FTSE 250 up 0.9% at 6,014.9. Trading volume was 2.7 billion.

The closing prices of media company shares on Thursday were: