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The reverse in fortunes was partly responsible for reduced losses within its new-media operations, which are now concentrated in a new joint venture company, Rivals.Net formed with 365 Corporation.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and before losses at its new-media division, were £8.2m, an increase of 31% on the comparable figure of £6.3m for last year.

The group reported turnover up 21% to £113.7m in the six months to February 28, compared with £93.6m in 2001.

Revenues at Chrysalis Radio were up 24% in March and April, underpinned by double-digit audience growth, but it said that short-term revenue outlook was still uncertain.

Chrysalis chairman Chris Wright said: "We are delighted to be back in profit and are very focused on growing strongly from this base. This will put us in the strongest position to capitalise on any changes to the industry environment that will be brought about by the forthcoming communications bill."

Operating profits for the period were £3.3m after charging new-media losses of £1.7m. This compares with an operating loss of £4.75m in 2001 and a £9.1m charge for new-media losses. Earnings per share were 0.58p against a loss per share of 2.94p in the comparable period last year.

Overall, Chrysalis Radio's revenues for the period were flat at £22.7m, which compares very favourably with a 12% decline for the commercial radio industry as a whole.

Chrysalis Radio's like-for-like revenue fell 2.9% in the six-month period. Its sales performance was fuelled by further audience growth, with its stations trading off 10.5% more listening hours compared with the previous year.

Chrysalis operates in seven major UK markets, including London, the Midlands and Yorkshire, under the Heart and Galaxy brands and is the fourth-largest UK commercial radio group with a total of 5m weekly listeners and 44.3m total weekly listening hours, giving it a market share of 9.1%.

The exceptional closure costs for Rivals Europe of £700,000 reduced the profit before interest and tax to £2.6m. The core operating divisions of radio, music, television and books delivered combined operating profits after corporate costs of £5m, a 17% improvement on the same period last year.

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