Sharewatch: INM Shares Rise As Tabloid Takes Off

News yesterday that the Independent is to be a tabloid-only newspaper from Monday prompted a 0.20% rise for the company, pushing its share price to 123˝p. The move to a full tabloid edition has been welcomed across the industry with several high-profile figures commending the newspaper’s decision (see Independent Ditches Broadsheet To Go Totally Tabloid).

Publishing giant Emap also saw a rise, climbing by 1.20% to 841˝p as the company announced an extensive partnership with the Yates bar chain to create a special ‘Girl of the Week’ promotional campaign in men’s lifestyle magazine Zoo (see Emap Secures Yates For Sexy Zoo Weekly Campaign).

Elsewhere in the magazine market, Future saw a dip of 2.13% to 69p following publication of its first quarter results. The publisher announced that revenue for Q1 2004 was up 7%, reflecting the positive impact of the group’s growing entertainment section. The company also revealed a dip in newsstand sales both in the UK and in the US leading to quieter than expected trading.

The FTSE 100 recovered slightly, climbing to near its previous peak with a 0.9% rise to 4,453.8. The FTSE 250 followed roughly the same pattern, closing 0.7% higher at 6,010.7.

The closing prices of media company shares on Thursday were:

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive