Sharewatch: French Competition Hits Emap Hard

Publishing giant Emap saw its share price suffer yesterday, plummeting by 10.64% to 756p as the company unveiled its full-year financial results. Pre-tax profits at the company were up 12% for the year, although warnings over competition in the French television listings market and the weakness of Euro unnerved investors (see French TV Listings Holding Back Emap Despite Profits Rising).

Elsewhere, ITV also saw a dip, slipping 0.84% to close at 118p. Yesterday the company announced the launch of a dedicated internet site to promote its coverage of the Euro 2004 football tournament (see ITV Nets Tech Firm For Euro 2004 Website Sponsorship).

The championship has already provided the a boost to ITV’s ad revenue, with reports that a 30-second spot during the event could cost between £250,000 and £300,000, with ads during an England game costing around £350,000 (see ITV Sees Revenue Surge As Euro 2004 Approaches).

SMG was one of only a handful of media stocks to see a rise yesterday, climbing by 1.17% to 107žp. Yesterday the company announced a landmark £1 million cross-platform deal with Unilever that will see the FMCG giant advertise across SMG’s television, radio, cinema outdoor and online properties (see SMG Secures Major Cross-Platform Deal With Unilever).

Media stocks in general pulled London blue-chips to close lower yesterday, with Emap bearing the brunt of investors’ woes. The FTSE 100 closed 0.25% lower at 4,418, while the FTSE 250 lost 0.3% to close at 5,983.6.

The closing prices of media company shares on Tuesday were:

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