MUBL.L Regulatory News (MUBL)

31 Jan 2005 07:00

Air Music & Media Group PLC31 January 2005 Air Music and Media Group plc Trading Update Air Music and Media Group plc (AIM: AMU), the UK publisher and distributor ofaffordable entertainment to over 55 countries, is pleased to provide investorswith the following update on trading since the announcement of its interimsresults for the six months ended 30 September 2004 announced on 3 December. Trading has continued to proceed in line with management expectations and theGroup has benefited from a strong third quarter. In particular, the Groupexperienced buoyant trading during the Christmas period, which exceededmanagement budgets, and confirms that the final quarter is progressing in linewith market expectations. Music Box Leisure Ltd, suppliers of entertainment products to supermarket chainsand a wide range of other retailers, was acquired by Air Media in October 2004for £27,150,000. Your Board is pleased to report that the integration of MusicBox is progressing well and has made a strong contribution in its first quarteras part of the Group. The Board remains confident of the rationale behind theacquisition and the key benefits it should deliver, namely: - Earnings enhancement- A direct route to market for Air Media's current products- A complementary product range and significant cross selling opportunities- The opportunity to develop proprietary product ranges from copyright owned or licensed by the Group, thus retaining the third party profit costs in-house- On-going sales and distribution synergies Mark Frey, Chief Executive, said: "The Christmas trading period exceeded our expectations despite the generalmalaise experienced by many in the retail sector. Music Box, in particular, madea positive impact and its integration into the Group is progressing in line withmanagement's expectations." John French, Non-Executive Chairman, added: "The acquisition of Music Box has transformed the Group and provided exposure toa larger market which will provide strong opportunities to cross sell theGroup's products and grow existing market share. We are pleased with theprogress the Group is making and look forward to the future with addedconfidence." - ends - Enquiries to: Air Music and Media Group plcJohn French, Non-Executive Chairman 07836 722 482Mark Frey, 01442 877018Redleaf CommunicationsEmma Kane/Duncan McCormick 020 7955 1410 or 07876 338339 Notes to Editors: About Air Music and Media - Air Music and Media Group plc was founded in December 1995 and is listed on AIM (EPIC: AMU)- Air Media trades in music and visual copyrights either as owner or licensee - it does not finance new movies or promote new bands, all products follow a successful theme or concept- It produces budget compact discs and budget DVDs that typically retail for under £4.00 or the international equivalent- The Group has access to over 100,000 tracks of music rights and over 1,000 exclusive film rights for exploitation- Its customers are music and DVD/video trade wholesalers/distributors, promotion agencies and via distributors to retailers with heavy footfall- Air Media produces both 'music nostalgia' type products targeted at the 'easy listening' or 'middle of the road' market together with a range of non box office films on DVD and video targeted at the over 25 years age group- Its products are sold globally with customers in over 55 countries- Further information on the Group is available through its website:www.airmusicandmedia.co.uk About Music Box - Music Box was acquired by Air Media in October 2004- It offers its customers a product mix of CD, DVD and Computer Games racked and serviced on their behalf- It supplies heavy footfall retailers, supermarkets, discount retailers, airports, ferries and motorway service stations- It operates out of a 100,000 sq ft. distribution centre- It does not supply chart product as its main offering (less than 5% of sales are chart related)- Predominant music and movie ranges are: easy listening, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, back catalogue, budget and super budget related products This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange