Agora prepares for battle amid weak Q2 results

Publisher of Gazeta Wyborcza (GW) Agora has posted a fall in profits for the second quarter, but still the performance exceeded analysts' expectations. The consolidated net profit of the publisher dropped to zł. 13 million from zł. 23.9 million last year. To compare, the consolidated profit of GW soared to zł. 227.6 million from zł. 217.3 million in Q2 2002. The main cause for Agora's poor performance is the weak condition of the advertising market. Additionally, the results have been adversely affected by lackluster performance of its recent acquisition outdoor advertiser AMS. "Agora is in the process of restructuring and the advertising market is still weak. Some improvement may be expected next year," said an analyst from Raiffeisen Bank Paweł Puchalski. Agora faces a major threat from a new daily slated to be set up by Agora's new competitor Axel Springer this autumn. "We will respond to the challenge and is preparing for battle by injecting considerable financial resources to upgrade the position of GW," said Agora's president Wanda Rapaczyńska. (Puls Biznesu) A.Z.