Advertising revenues at SMG are expected to be up by 4% in the second quarter, following a Q1 decline of 5%, the group’s chairman, Don Cruickshank, told the AGM today. Cruickshank said that the advertising market has now become more stable, following a downturn that has lasted more than 18 months.
The World Cup has boosted figures for May and June, particularly in the television and radio sectors, both of which SMG has businesses in. However, despite the competition drawing to a close – and England’s departure earlier this morning – there are still signs of improvement for the remainder of the summer in most of the company’s sectors, the statement said.
Nevertheless, whilst optimistic, Cruickshank remained cautious: “While the indications are that we have entered a period of greater stability and we have seen some signs of improvement, it is premature to speculate on how the advertising market will perform beyond the summer. Meanwhile, we continue to focus on driving market share and managing tightly our cost base and at this stage our performance is broadly in line with expectations.”
Communications Bill Cruickshank also said that the Communications Bill will ‘fashion the shape of the media landscape’ of the UK for the foreseeable future and that SMG broadly welcomes its ‘deregulatory spirit’. However, the group believes that there are still unclear elements in the Draft Bill and will continue to contribute to the formation of the legislation until it is passed.
