The boss of radio group GWR said that, while advertising profits were down and the radio advertising sector was still struggling, he felt the current fall in revenues was a "temporary blip".
Ralph Bernard was commenting on his company's performance after it was revealed profits for Oct were down 8.7% on the same month last year. Nov profits are expected to be down 6.6%, and Dec 2004 probably won't be as profitable as Dec 2003 either.
Aware that rivals EMAP and Chrysalis have admitted similar declines in advertising profits in the last couple of months, Bernard said: "I believe it's a blip, and the evidence suggests, because December is better than November and November was better than October in terms of the rate of decline, that it's a blip. Certainly going forward we remain confident."
Bernard said that both an increasingly competitive BBC and competition from the internet sales sector were affecting the advertising revenues being secured by the main radio players. Increasing competition from players outside the commercial radio sector is, Bernard argues, another reason why the planned GWR / Capital Radio merger should go ahead.