Chrysalis Reveals Drop In First Half Profits
Media group Chrysalis has revealed a dramatic drop in its profits for the first half of the financial year, attributing the decline to falling audiences and a difficult period of trading in its books division.
The results show group turnover to have dropped to £78.4 million for the six months ended 28 February 2005, compared to the same period in 2004 which enjoyed turnover of £82.4 million.
The downward trend continued with total operating profit dropping to £1.7 million, from £82.4 million in 2004. Chrysalis put this decline down to increased losses at Chrysalis Books, as well as under performance from its radio and magazine divisions.
Chrysalis radio performed in line with the commercial radio industry as a whole, but suffered a period of marked volatility during the first six months of the 2005 financial year. Revenues for the first half fell by 2.2% to £32.6 million, compared to £33.3 million in 2004.
Pre-tax profits fell to £0.3 million from £2.2 million in 2004, overall Chrysalis predict the results for the full 2005 year to be weighted to the second half.
Despite a challenging first half of the year, the recent quarter one RAJAR results showed Heart as the London commercial market leader. The Galaxy network of stations continued to perform well, reaching 2.2 million analogue listeners, making it the leading commercial radio youth brand across the UK, with 50% more listening hours than its nearest competitor (see RAJAR Results Q1 2005: Capital Ahead On Reach But Heart Moves Infront With Hours).
Commenting on the results, Richard Huntingford, Chrysalis chief executive said: “These results are in line with our pre-close statement and have been affected by the impact of previous, lower than expected audience figures in the radio division and difficult first half trading conditions at the books division.”
He continued: “During the period our core music business performed strongly and a number of programming and marketing initiatives were put in place to strengthen audiences across our radio division. The recently announced acquisition of Century 106 demonstrates our commitment to build on the unique and market leading positions we have created in both Chrysalis Radio and Chrysalis Music, enhancing the value of these asset for the long term benefit of all shareholders in the Chrysalis Group (see
Chrysalis: 020 7221 2213 www.chrysalis.com