Capital profits drop 16% with no sign of ad recovery

LONDON - Capital Radio has said it expects advertising to remain under pressure for the rest of the year, as it revealed a 15.5% fall in pre-tax profit to £12m.

Revenues across the group, which owns Capital FM, Xfm, Capital Gold and Century FM, were down by 5.2% to £56.9m for the six months ending March 31 2003, and earnings per share fell from 12.1p last year to 10.1p.

The group was pessimistic on upcoming advertising revenues, saying that it anticipated combined April and May 2003 revenues to be broadly flat, and that it is assuming the ad market will remain under pressure.

David Mansfield, chief executive of Capital, said: "Our continuing strategy is to build our strong portfolio of complementary radio brands to attract loyal listeners and advertisers.

"The introduction of regulatory changes later this year will present transforming opportunities for the UK commercial radio sector. Our strong balance sheet, operational synergies and acquisition track record, provide us with the leading position to take advantage of potential consolidation opportunities."

A new advertising campaign for Capital FM launches this week, promoting the station's broad playlist, featuring the music of artists including Christina Aguilera and Salt n' Pepa.

Capital's share price has been buffeted over the past 12 months by speculation on the fate of its star DJ Chris Tarrant, who hosts the breakfast show. The company said that the new breakfast programme, in which Tarrant has a new female co-host, has added 102,000 listeners since it was launched in March.

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