Troubled media group Emap yesterday described first-quarter trading as "in line with expectations" despite advertising weakness in its UK consumer magazines.
Executive chairman Alun Cathcart, who is in temporary charge following the sudden exit in May of chief executive Tom Moloney, disclosed that group revenue in the quarter to June 30 fell 3% in total and 2% on an underlying basis.
"At this early stage, we remain on track to deliver against expectations for the full year," the company said in an update before the meeting.
Cathcart has said finding a replacement for Moloney could take several months. Some analysts believe the chances of a break-up or bid from either a trade buyer or private equity have increased since Moloney's exit.
Emap, which bought Scottish Radio Holdings for £391m in 2005, owns FHM, Zoo and Grazia magazines, and radio stations such as Magic and Radio Clyde. In radio - excluding its Republic of Ireland stations - the company said revenue was down 2% in the quarter, with the Big City network "flat".
UK consumer magazines rev- enue fell 8% on an underlying basis, with circulation down 4% and advertising down 13%.
Emap said the outlook in this area had improved, but the men's market continues to be weak. Online and mobile digital revenues across the consumer business were up 34% year-on-year.
"It is easy to over-analyse' quarterly data but initially we expect the market to react negatively to the poor (first-quarter) UK consumer advertising revenue," said Panmure Gordon analyst Alex DeGroote.
Emap endured a minor show of dissent on boardroom pay, with nearly 12% of shareholders voting against amendments to a performance-related pay plan.
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