SMG To Announce Flat Half Year Results

Scottish Media Group (SMG) is expected to announce flat half year results with analysts forecasting the broadcaster to reveal pretax profits of £6-6.5 million, compared to £5.5 million the same time last year.

The Glasgow based company has seen solid growth in revenues from its television businesses, but suffered a weaker performance from its radio business.

This poor performance provides further evidence of a subdued advertising market for media companies, echoing predictions from regional newspaper group, Johnston Press, who warned in a trading statement that there is little prospect of a recovery in the advertising market in the second half of 2005 (see Johnston Continues To Warn Of Difficult Ad Market).

In the company’s annual general meeting in June, SMG claimed it was optimistic about trading prospects for 2005, despite the strong performance in the first quarter of 2005 being followed by a more moderated growth in Q2 (see SMG Continues To Perform Strongly).

It released an upbeat trading statement showing progress in both operational achievements and trading performance, with its television, radio, cinema and outdoor advertising departments all thriving.

Virgin Radio recently signed former Yahoo! UK managing director, Fru Hazlitt, as its new CEO, taking full responsibility for the SMG-owned station, with acting CEO Paul Jackson returning his concentration to programming across the Virgin Radio Network (see Virgin Radio Signs Hazlitt As New CEO).

Earlier in the year, SMG rejected a string of offers for its national radio station, most notably from private equity group, 3i (see SMG Rejects 3i Offer For Virgin Radio).

SMG: 0141 300 3000 www.smgplc.plc.uk