Sharewatch: Highbury House Rises Despite Poor Results

Consumer magazine publisher Highbury House Communications saw yesterday’s largest percentage increase amongst media stocks with shares rising by 1.06% to close at 23žp despite revealing a difficult year in its annual results (see Highbury House Loss Hits £25.7 Million).

The company unveiled pre-tax losses of £25.7 million for 2003, a disappointing performance compared to 2002, when the company achieved pre-tax profits of £6.7 million.

Elsewhere, ITV saw shares continue to slide, falling by 1.72% to close at 128źp following reports that Charles Allen may be removed from his position as chairman following calls from at least one major shareholder (see ITV Investors Could Remove Allen As Chief Executive).

Embattled cable operator Telewest also slipped yesterday, falling by 14.29% to 1˝p. The fall pushes the company ever closer to the sub 1p mark amid heightened competition in the broadband internet market from BT, which has announced several new services to boost subscriber levels (see BT Drives Broadband With New Rich Media Launch).

Weak performance from technology and mining stocks pushed the FTSE 100 down by 0.2% to 4,472.8 yesterday, while the FTSE 250 finished at 6,308.3, also down 0.2%.

The closing prices of media company shares on Tuesday were: