16/05/2008

Shareholders in stv owners can expect an unbeat presentation from the company’s chair, when they gather today for the SMG annual general meeting.

In a statement issued this morning, Richard Findlay, says he believes SMG is now able to ‘punch above its weight’, both in the UK and overseas.

He said: “As mentioned in our preliminary results six weeks ago, 2007 was a transformational year in which we rebuilt a financially stable SMG that can now develop it unique broadcasting assets and deliver the growth strategy we have promised.”

As well as stv, SMG owns Virgin Radio and cinema advertising company, Pearl & Dean.

He continued: “In terms of trading, since our last update on April 3, stv has continued to outperform the ITV network, both in national sales and in regional sales. We expect regional sales to continue double digit growth this month and in June. In radio there has been some volatility, with Q1 growth of per cent but a weaker Q2, reflecting the overall radio market. In cinema, the Q1 revenues were down ten per cent and this pattern continued in April and May, due to a weak film market. However, we expect the stronger summer film slate to deliver growth of 18 per cent in June.”

SMG has made clear it wishes to sell both Virgin and Pearl & Dean, to concentrate on television.
 
Findlay added: “The sale process of Virgin Radio continues to progress and we will make an announcement in due course. Our cinema advertising business, Pearl & Dean, remains non-core and we continue to actively pursue appropriate options for this business. We believe that changes in the industry, and the current [Office of Fair Trading] review, are creating a more positive environment for the disposal.
 
“In our core TV business, we are progressing well in the key growth areas that are our focus for 2008 and beyond. We’ve already made substantial reductions in our cost base and are continuing to improve the efficiency of the business. In content, following our biggest ever commission of [TV crime drama] Taggart for delivery in 2008, we’ve further strengthened the senior team and are delighted that Alan Clements, one of the UK’s top programme makers, will be joining us as Director of Content in September.
 
“The board and I remain totally committed to executing our strategy and delivering value for shareholders; we are confident the business now has a strong platform from which to outperform in difficult market conditions.

“The historic debt problem has been solved. Non-core business disposal is progressing. Broadcasting has 20-25 per cent lower controllable costs than a year ago, which, combined with further efficiency improvements, provides robustness in the face of uncertain advertising markets.

“Regional advertising, which has yet to achieve its full potential, is a major area of growth as we successfully acquire our ‘natural’ market share. Content has had a strong year to date, and with Alan Clements’ leadership, we can fulfil its growth potential. Relaunching the stv portal – stv.tv - this summer will allow us to properly monetise our audience reach and online content rights.   
 
“The board’s outlook for the year remains unchanged. We will provide a detailed update on the execution of this growth strategy at the investor day we are holding on 24 June.
 
“[SMG] occupies a unique place within the Scottish media landscape, and now has the people and the structure to punch well above its weight within its home market and further afield.”
 
An update on the financial and business performance of the strategy will be given at company’s interim results in August.

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