Advertising revenues at SMG are expected to be up by 4% in the second quarter, following a Q1 decline of 5%, the group’s chairman, Don Cruickshank, told the AGM today. Cruickshank said that the advertising market has now become more stable, following a downturn that has lasted more than 18 months.
Nevertheless, whilst optimistic, Cruickshank remained cautious: “While the indications are that we have entered a period of greater stability and we have seen some signs of improvement, it is premature to speculate on how the advertising market will perform beyond the summer. Meanwhile, we continue to focus on driving market share and managing tightly our cost base and at this stage our performance is broadly in line with expectations.”