Sharewatch: Carlton And Granada Slide Ahead Of Merger
ITV partners, Carlton and Granada, saw shares slide yesterday, down 6.84% and 7.02% respectively. Reports suggest their propossed £2.6bn could be referred to the Competition Commission as early as next week.
WPP was also seen under pressure again on Tuesday, slipping 5.01% after posting a weak set of results earlier this weak (see WPP Profits Fall 50% In The Face Of Recession).
Chief Executive of the group, Sir Martin Sorrell, reportedly warned that the current political uncertainty and the threat of a US led military attack on Iraq was already beginning to damage advertising revenues, with many companies delaying big decisions on ad campaigns.
The governor of the Bank of England yesterday criticised the media for stoking up anxiety about the economy with ‘sensationalist’ stories about a downturn.
On a brighter note, the advertising industry also considered news from the US, where Omnicom, the world’s third largest advertising group, reporting a surge in revenues for the fourth quarter of last year, and displayed none of Sorrell’s bearish sentiments.
Elsewhere, Clear Channel Communications, the largest US radio operator, reported a return to profit, after a 19% rise in fourth quarter revenues. UBS Warburg analysts claim the results are a testament to the industry’s resilience.
The closing prices of media company shares on Tuesday were:
