Chrysalis profits suffer but radio revenues set to improve

LONDON - Radio operator and music publisher Chrysalis has said it is expecting a recovery in radio advertising despite revealing six monthly pre-tax group profits were down 67% year on year from £4.3m to £1.4m.

Chrysalis, which last year sold off its book publishing and mobile downloads businesses, said revenues from current operations were up by 1.4% from £67.7m to £68.7m.

Radio revenues were down by 4.6% from £32.6m to £31.1m, without taking into account £2m worth of revenues from 106 Century FM, the East Midlands station acquired from Capital Radio last May and rebranded Heart. The group said it believes the overall radio market was down by 8%.

The group said it expects March-May revenue growth from its radio networks Heart, Galaxy and LBC to be up 10% year on year, outperforming the rest of the market's predicted 2% growth.

Richard Huntingford, chief executive of Chrysalis Group, said: "During the first six months of the year, our radio and music businesses have both continued to outperform their respective peers in difficult markets."

Chrysalis attributed the performance to the enhanced trading relationships it put in place earlier this year with a number of major agencies in terms of pricing and share of spend.

In the six months to February, Heart 106.2 was the second-highest rated station in London and increased revenue by 3% year on year. Chrysalis said revenues increased at the station due to it being London's most listened to station during the third and fourth quarters of 2005, and the Heart regional network remains the most listened to local network.

The Galaxy network experienced a 6% decrease in revenues and slightly weaker audiences.

LBC has reduced losses and is expected to reach a break-even position in the financial year. It increased revenues by almost 10% thanks to better volumes, pricing, and an increase in sponsorship and promotions activity.

Having launched a paid-for "premium" LBC podcast at £2.50 a month in January, Chrysalis said the service has attracted 3,500 subscribers.

However, the group's losses in digital radio have not been reduced. In the six months to February, it lost £1.49m compared with £1.47m in the same period a year earlier.

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