AGM Statement

SMG PLC 26 May 2006 Chairman's AGM Statement - 2006 The Annual General Meeting of SMG plc ('SMG') will be held today at 12 noon, at which Chairman, Chris Masters, intends to make the following remarks: 'I am pleased to report that SMG has continued to make good progress in the first few months of 2006 in developing new revenue streams and strengthening our existing businesses. The Group has powerful brands and we continue to accelerate our strategy of capitalising on their strengths and the affinity that they attract from advertisers and consumers. Our television stations will next week re-brand as STV, bringing a common on-screen look and feel to complement the shared programming that is now a feature of both schedules, and enabling us to pursue a cohesive on-line strategy for our broadcast TV business. Pearl & Dean, traditionally a business to business brand, is now transacting directly with consumers for the first time in its 50+ year history and Virgin Radio continues to make good progress in exploiting its unique brand to broaden its listener base. This brand strength places SMG in an advantageous position to harness the advances in digital technology and consumer uptake. The re-branding of our TV stations is a precursor to the launch, this summer, of an innovative on-line strategy spearheading our stated aim of achieving 25% of broadcast television revenues from areas other than conventional spot advertising by 2010. This will complement Pearl & Dean's consumer-focused website, launched in February, and will be supplemented by the enhancement of Virgin Radio's pioneering online presence later this year. We continue to focus on enhancing efficiency across the Group and our Glasgow-based TV operations will transfer on schedule to their new studios in the city in July, facilitating improved working practices and an industry-leading working environment in what will be one of the most advanced TV facilities in the world. Meanwhile the separation of Primesight and Pearl & Dean into standalone businesses has resulted in improved focus and effectiveness. Overall, advertising markets in the first few months of 2006 have been challenging. Advertiser response to the World Cup is below expectations at this point and our TV airtime sales are in line with those of ITV1. However, the effect of CRR (Contract Rights Renewal) means that short-term fluctuations are smoothed out across the year. Our network productions and solutions businesses continue to make good progress. Virgin Radio's revenue out-performance against the UK radio market, reported at the year-end, continues, driven by strong sponsorship and promotions activity. Primesight's revenue growth has also been strong in the early months of 2006 and we continue to out-perform the UK outdoor market, while the improvement in margins we are seeking in this business is beginning to show through. Pearl & Dean is seeing underlying revenue growth on the back of a much-improved movie schedule, particularly as we approach the summer months, albeit that year-on-year revenue performance has been impacted by the loss, as previously announced, of the low margin UGC contract. As is consistently the case, SMG's revenues will be weighted towards the second half of the year and, at this stage, the Group continues to perform in line with the Board's expectations for 2006.' Further enquiries: Callum Spreng Corporate Affairs Director Tel: 0141 300 3640 26 May 2006 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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