SMG confident about hitting full year targets

SMG, the Scottish TV company, says it will hit its full year targets despite the difficult advertising market. It made the comments as it announced pre-tax profits of £4.2m for the first half of the year.

The group’s core TV business, STV, reported flat revenue year on year at £56m with operating profit up by 26% to £4.9m. It also saw a 14% rise in regional ad revenue over the period.

It says it expects regional TV revenue will be up by 16% year on year in the third quarter of the year but national TV revenue is expected to drop 15% year on year with “low double-digit decline” in October.

The company is rebranding at STV following the sell off of Virgin Radio, outdoor company Primesite, cinema advertising company Pearl & Dean and its newspaper publishing arm over recent years.

SMG Group, including Virgin Radio, Primesight and Pearl & Dean, saw revenue fall to £75.6m over the first half the year compared to £88.9m in the same period last year. Operating profit fell from £6.9m to £5.4m. Pearl & Dean reported a year-on-year loss of £1m over the first half of the year, and Virgin Radio also saw revenue drop by nearly £1m to £11.3m and a drop in operating profit from £2.5m in the first half of 2007 to £1m this year.