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Despite the impact of the war, Maiden said early signs in 2003 were encouraging, with a record performance in group sales in the first quarter.

The update on the group's performance came at its annual general meeting today and follows the group's preliminary results in March, when Maiden reported a fall in pre-tax profits of 4.5% to £6.4m, hurt by what it called the "worst media recession in a generation".

Martin Boase, the Maiden Group chairman, said: "Given the negative impact of the Iraq war on advance bookings, we expect a slight decline in revenues in April and May compared with last year. Forward visibility remains limited, with June bookings proving to be on very short notice. Nonetheless, we anticipate revenue growth in the first half of between 3%-5%."

Maiden said that one area that was continuing to show strong growth was its growing investment in Transvision screens at major railway stations.

It said the completion in April of what is now a five-screen network including the main line terminals at Victoria, Waterloo, Euston, Charing Cross and Liverpool Street, and which reaches 20m people a fortnight, has led to a number of blue-chip advertisers booking substantial campaigns extending into 2004.

The group said it was continuing to look for ways it could cut costs to boost profits and in this regard its focus in the second half would be on the business's largest external costs, which should produce clear future benefits.

"Combined with the continuing investment in our estate, the directors believe that Maiden is well placed to deliver future growth when the UK and world economies regain momentum," Boase said.

Shares in the company rose slightly, up 1.09%, or 2.5p, to 237.5p. Maiden's stock price has continued to gain ground in the last couple of months and is up from 195p in March.

In January, Maiden warned that revenue growth would remain in single digits and would not reach the levels it had originally hoped for.

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