Agora announced an increase in list ad prices at its ‘Gazeta’ newspaper for 2007, by 3.6% in the main edition, and by 4.0% - 9.7% in ‘Gazeta’ supplements. Agora said that ad prices for its Warsaw edition would remain unchanged.
Our view: We view the news as neutral, considering the fact that an increase in advertisement list prices does not necessarily translate into higher real prices, after rebates and discounts. Please note that Agora would increase its prices from depressed levels, following the launch of rival ‘Dziennik’ in spring 2006. Apart from that, the scale of ad price increase in Agora is below ad price increases in TV scheduled for 2007. We keep unchanged our expectation of below average growth in print media in 2007, as the company has produced any new comment on its competitive outlook. We reiterate our Hold rating for Agora.