Sharewatch: Chrysalis Suffers In Dismal Day’s Trading

Radio group Chrysalis bore the brunt of a bad day’s trading amongst media stocks yesterday, losing 6.42% to close at 164p. The broadcaster yesterday announced final results for the 12 months to August, revealing a massive 370% increase in operating profit to £8.3 million but forecasting a that revenue growth for the radio industry as a whole may flatline for the three months to November.

The company’s chief executive, Richard Huntingford, also told reporters yesterday that it did not feel pressured to merge with rivals in the light of increased consolidation in the radio sector, stating that a “knee-jerk” reaction could be disastrous, resulting in broadcaster’s “chasing some overpriced media asset” (see Chrysalis Not Pressured By Capital GWR Merger).

TV giant ITV also saw a decline in share price, losing 0.66% to close at 112˝p. The broadcaster was recently commended by the independent adjudicator of the Contract Rights Renewal system, stating that the broadcaster has given full co-operation to advertisers to bring improved relations and a smooth working relationship (see Contract Rights Renewal Working Well Says Adjudicator).

Elsewhere, with only a handful of companies fending off negative growth, the Wireless Group remained steady at 76˝p. The broadcaster recently announced its intention to bid for Manchester’s last remaining FM radio licence, with proposals for a speech-based local station chaired by ex Manchester Police boss and TV presenter, John Stalker (see Wireless Group To Bid For Manchester Radio Licence).

The FTSE 100 performed well yesterday, adding 9.2 points to close at 4,803.1 while the FTSE 250 rose even higher, adding 10.2 points to close at 6,592.5.

The closing prices of media company shares on Monday were: