Operational update

16 May 2011 07:00

Parallel Media Group PLC ("PMG" or the "Company") Operational update

PMG, the leading sports media and promotion company, is pleased to announce an operational update in relation to the successful staging of its Ballantine's Championship.

The Ballantine's Championship, held in Seoul, is the largest men's golf event in Korea and is regarded as one of Asia's leading men's tour events, sanctioned by both the PGA European Tour and Asian Tour. The Championship attracted a strong field of international golfers and was won by the world's No 1 Lee Westwood.

The tournament's lead sponsor is Pernod Ricard with their leading premium whisky brand Ballantine's. Other major sponsors include Hyundai, Bank of America, Emirates, Omega and KT (Korea Telecom). Given the success of the event, which included extensive media coverage domestically on KBS and JGolf and reached over 400 million homes internationally, these sponsors have committed to this event on a multi year basis.

PMG generates revenue from sponsorship, television and ticket sales and the strong financial performance was in line with the Company's expectations, with profits from the event significantly ahead of last year.

In addition, PMG is actively developing additional events in the fast growing Asian golf market and has already signed a contract with the PGA European Tour for a new tournament date in 2012. Discussions about staging this event in China are already at an advanced stage and a number of sponsors have already shown significant interest.

Commenting today, David Ciclitira, Executive Chairman, said "we are extremely pleased at how well Ballantine's has gone this year, and this is very much underlined by the continued commitment from the tournament's major international sponsors. We are also very excited about a new tournament in China and are in detailed discussions regarding further events in the region."

For further information, please contact:

Stewart Mison, Charlie Wale Parallel Media Group PLC 020 7225 2000 Luke Cairns, Edward Hutton Northland Capital Partners Limited 020 7796 8800

Charles Goodfellow Novus Capital Markets Limited 020 7107 1850