Losses do not dissuade SRH from Irish media

SCOTTISH Radio Holdings (SRH) still have strong designs on the Irish market, despite incurring sharp overall losses last year.

These were expected, and the group has announced a good start to the first quarter of the current year.

SRH has radio and print interests in Ireland including Today FM and the Longford Leader, which it bought during its last financial year.

Chief executive, Richard Findlay, yesterday dismissed as "absolute nonsense" recent reports it was interested in buying the Limerick Leader for a reported 60 million.

"We're not interested in it at that price", said the SRH boss who noted the Irish economy had come off its peak but "people's expectations were still up in the clouds."

Mr Findlay, a former journalist, rejected suggestions that he had been over generous in the prices he paid for some of his Irish interests including Today FM, and the Kilkenny People, which is also part of the group's expanding Irish base. Those operations are making good returns and have justified the prices paid, even in a declining economy, he said.

"The slow down was always something we expected to happen and we knew that when we were doing our deals here," he said.

SRH announced a good start to its new financial year on Thursday, after posting a full-year loss as expected.

Findlay forecast radio revenues would be 4% higher and newspaper revenues up 5% year-on-year in October and November.

"We are quietly pleased. October to December is a very important quarter," he told UK journalists, adding it was too early to be confident about the long-term outlook for advertising.

"It is still on a very short time scale," he said.

UK analysts said media companies worldwide have been reporting lean times and falling profits well into the second year of a tough advertising market due to the slowing global economy.

SRH owns local radio stations and newspapers in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic and two local radio stations in England.

It made pre-tax loss of £13.5 million (€21.3m) for the 12 months to end-September 2002, against profit of £11.1 million the previous year.

Those losses included an exceptional £21.2m (€33.4) loss from the sale of its SCORE Outdoor advertising business in May, its only loss maker.

Even excluding the exceptionals to its losses, the group's profit, before tax and exceptional items, fell 10.5% to £12.8 million pounds (€20.2m), due to interest and other charges.

Analysts' consensus forecast was for £13.5m (€21.3m).

SRH's shares fell marginally in London 562.5p , valuing the business at £187m (€295.1m).

Based on Wednesday's close at 565p in London the firm under performed the media sector by 8%, said Reuters.