Sharewatch: Johnston Press Dips Despite Positive Forecasts

Newspaper publisher Johnston Press saw a dip in share price yesterday, sliding 0.85% to 555źp despite positive forecasts for the first half of the year. Yesterday the publisher announced that results will be well ahead of expectations, revealing a growth in advertising revenue of around 5.8%.

According to Johnston Press, all categories of advertising have seen better than expected performance, with the strongest growth coming from the recruitment sector reflecting the improved business climate in the south of the country. The company is also optimistic on the second half of the year, claiming that advertising revenue is continuing to grow (see Johnston Press Sees Results Ahead of Expectations).

Elsewhere magazine giant Emap rose by 2.43% to 758p as the company announced the appointment of Margi Conklin, deputy editor of IPC’s Instyle magazine, as the new editor of its monthly fashion and beauty title New Woman (see Emap Poaches IPC’s Conklin To Edit New Woman Magazine).

Internet provider Cable & Wireless also saw a rise, adding 0.78% to sit at 128˝p as a US court dismissed action against the company over misleading statements and failure to disclose tax liabilities.

The FTSE 100 made good headway yesterday, breaking the 4,500 barrier briefly, before slipping back down. At close the market was up 0.7% at 4,491.1 while the FTSE 250 saw a 0.5% climb to 6,130.6.

The closing prices of media company shares on Wednesday were: