Shares in the company, owner of Forth Radio, Wave 105 FM on the south coast and Ireland's Today FM, leapt on the news, up by almost 5% mid-morning to trade at 702.5p, a rise of 32.5p on yesterday's close.
Earnings for continuing operations at the group rose from £7.8m last year to £10.8m this year, while turnover was up by 28% to £41.5m for the six months ending March 31 2003. These figures do not include Score Outdoor, which SRH sold to Clear Channel in July last year for £33.5m.
SRH said that national radio advertising revenue rose by 8% for period, compared with the previous six months, while local ad revenues were up by 3%.
Yesterday, SRH announced it was buying GWR Group's 49% stake in Vibe, their joint venture. This will allow Vibe to take over Bristol dance music station Galaxy, which is being sold by Chrysalis -- a takeover that had previously been blocked by the Competition Commission because of concerns over GWR's dominance in radio advertising sales in the west of England.
At SRH's Score Press division, owner of local weekly newspaper titles in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, advertising revenues were up by 6% for the period. Titles owned by SRH include the Tipperary Star and the Tyrone Times.
Lord Gordon of Strathblane, chairman of SRH, said: "The strong first-half growth in revenues and operating profits in both radio and publishing is extremely encouraging."
He added: "SRH is well placed for continued growth with its market leading radio companies in recognised geographical marketing areas and well-established local press titles. Trading in the second half has also started strongly, underpinning the board's expectation of a good result for the year as a whole."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
