Sharewatch: Emap Dips Despite Good Revenue Forecast

Emap was seen in focus yesterday with shares rising by 1.50% to close at 757˝p after announcing in a trading update that group revenues for the first half of this year are expected to be up 2% due to the success of celebrity gossip magazine Closer (see Success Of Closer Helps Drive Revenues At Emap).

Rival radio group Scottish Radio Holdings was also in the spotlight yesterday following the revelation that full-year revenues will be a healthy 9% ahead of last year. The helped the group its shares price remain stable at 953p (see SRH Confident Of Revenues Growing By 9% In 2004).

Meanwhile, GWR and Capital, which are currently in discussions over a nil-premium merger, took centre stage as investors eagerly anticipated further details on the deal. GWR was seen up by 0.93% at 272˝p, while Capital dipped 0.75% lower to close at 432žp.

The worst performance in yesterday’s media market came from Highbury House Communications, which saw stock plummet by 22.73% after admitting that it will fail to meet expectations this year and as a result will not be paying an interim or final dividend (see Highbury House Unable To Meet Full-Year Expectations).

The London equity market was led higher yesterday by strong performance from oil and gas shares and the mining sector. The FTSE 100 added 0.6% to 4,567.3 and the more cyclical FTSE 250 rose by 0.1% to finish at 6,233.7. Trading volume was £3 billion.

The closing prices of media company shares on Tuesday were: