Q102 pitches in with small profit

One More Thing:Four years after UTV shelled out a hefty €15 million for Q102 in Dublin, the over-35s radio station finally turned a profit.

Accounts just filed by City Broadcasting Ltd show that it made a pre-tax profit of €325,219 in the year to the end of December 2006. This compared with a loss of €68,070 in 2005.

The move into the black last year meant that accumulated losses were reduced to €3.8 million from €4.1 million. Turnover rose by a healthy 19 per cent to €5 million from €4.2 million.

Ronan McManamy, who heads UTV's radio operations in Ireland, admits it has taken longer than expected for Q102 to make a profit. "You can't underestimate the quality of the competition in Dublin. We're getting there slowly but surely."

Q102 might not be in the black for long. A €1 million-plus investment in marketing and staffing this year, aimed at achieving a breakthrough in listenership, could push it back into the red.

Recent JNLR listenership figures gave Q102 a 6.3 per cent market share. McManamy would like to see that rise to 8-9 per cent and has revamped the programming mix. There's now more music and less talk, particularly in the breakfast slot, where Debbie Allen is in the hot seat on her own following Alan Short's departure.

UTV boss John McCann must rue not being able to get a €30 million deal to buy FM104, Dublin's biggest local radio station, across the line in 2002. It subsequently fell into Emap's hands.

He lost out again this summer when Denis O'Brien agreed to pay €200 million to buy Emap's three Irish stations.

Regulators are forcing O'Brien to sell FM104. Bids are to be submitted to Communicorp by midday on Monday and UTV will be in the mix.

McCann will be hoping it's a case of third time lucky.