Strong Radio Performance Aids Chrysalis Results
Chrysalis Group’s radio business has outperformed the market in the year to 31 August 2001, with revenues rising by 18.3% to £44.0 million, according to the company’s year-end financial results released this morning. This growth compares to a more or less flat performance of the radio market as a whole over the same period.
Radio Chrysalis Radio’s Heart stations have shown a very strong performance, with the London station increasing market share from 4.3% to 5.8%. Revenue growth across Heart 106.2 FM (London) and the Midlands station 100.7 Heart FM was 16.6% in the financial year.
The group’s Galaxy network of stations saw revenue growth of 18.1% over the year, with good audience gains.
Acquisition Chrysalis has also announced today an agreement with European publishing group, VNU, to acquire its 49.9% stake in Dutch television production unit, CVI Media Group, for €7.2 million (£4.5 million). Chrysalis already owned the remaining 50.1% of CVI and so now takes full control of the business.
Outlook In line with most other companies and commentators, Chrysalis says that it cannot predict the timing of an advertising upturn and is therefore running its business on the basis that the commercial radio industry as a whole will not return to positive growth in this financial year.
Nevertheless, the company says that its ‘strong organic growth drivers’ – particularly radio audience numbers – should enable it to deliver further revenue growth in current year, despite the broader economic conditions.
Comment Chrysalis says the results are in line with market expectations, against what chief executive Richard Huntingford describes as a ‘backdrop of increasingly challenging market conditions’. It is the now-familiar failure to extract any useful level of revenue from the internet that has hurt what would have been strong profits from Chrysalis.
By late morning trading, shares in Chrysalis were up 2½p at 220p. This follows a dramatic fall yesterday, after what traders described as a ‘badly handled sell order’.
