Sharewatch: BSkyB Buoyed By Rise In Interim Net Profits

BSkyB was seen in focus yesterday rising by 1.17% to close at 776p as investors welcomed a significant rise in interim net profits and plans to resume dividend payments for the first time in five years (see BSkyB’s Good Run Continues With First Half Results).

WPP was also in the spotlight, recovering early loses to climb 2.20% higher as Cazenove suggested buying the stock ahead of the release of the global advertising and marketing network’s full year figures.

US group Comcast’s hostile bid for Walt Disney also lifted the media sector, with ITV adding 3.13% to close at 140źp.

Meanwhile, Daily Mail & General Trust was seen down by 2.66% on news that Richard Desmond’s Express Newspaper Group had made an indicative £500 million bid for the Telegraph titles (see Desmond Mounts Two Pronged Attack On Telegraph Titles).

Traders fear the rival newspaper groups could get involved in a bidding war for control of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and reports suggest Daily Mail & General Trust will today lead a flurry of last minute bids for the titles.

The footsie slipped yesterday as concerns about heavyweight pharmaceuticals and telecoms stocks offset a buoyant media market. The FTSE 100 dipped by 0.2% to 4,396.0 and the FTSE 250 was down 0.3% at 6,134.7.

The closing prices of media company shares on Wednesday were: