Sharewatch: Emap Rises As Titles Receive Facelift

Cross-media superpower Emap saw one of the few rises amongst media stocks yesterday, adding 0.42% to close at 725p. Yesterday saw the company announce a revamp for two of its biggest selling magazines, music title Q and movie bible Empire.

Among the changes are a revised, international focus for Empire comprising a new logo, strapline, size and editorial layout. Q will be given a new remit to become the ‘essential guide’ to how modern readers consume their music and will be boosted by a £600,000 cross-media advertising campaign (see Emap Launches Campaign To Promote Q Redesign).

Elsewhere, outdoor advertising specialists Maiden remained steady following an optimistic pre-close statement. The company outlined expected sales growth of at least 11% for the first half of 2004 after clinching a £477 million deal with Network Rail earlier this month (see Maiden Clinches £477 Million Rail Contracts).

Global information provider Reuters suffered yesterday’s biggest share price drop, plummeting 4.95% to 307p after the company failed to give a clear forecast to investors of when revenue growth would return.

The FTSE 100 gained 0.9% from Monday’s low point, rising to 4324.9, while the FTSE 250 added 0.4% to its total, closing at 5948.4.

The closing prices of media company shares on Tuesday were: