Source : Globe & Mail

Canadian communication and media companies will capture investor attention this week by broadcasting their first-quarter fiscal 2006 results.

This period is "typically one of the strongest quarters in the year because of seasonal viewing habits and results often set the tone for performances to come," said Megan Anderson, an analyst at RBC Dominion Securities Inc.

Companies provide early ratings data, details on programming costs and advertising cost trends, she said.

The new CanWest MediaWorks Income Fund, a newspaper business, makes its first quarterly report today followed by CanWest Global Communications Corp., Astral Media Inc. and Corus Entertainment Inc. tomorrow. CHUM Ltd. reports on Friday.

Television and radio broadcasters should be able to outperform publishers and printers because of decent ad market growth rates, RBC said.

However, analysts forecast CanWest Global's share profit declined to 44 cents a share during the first quarter, compared with 56 cents a year earlier, according to Thomson First Call. The decrease reflects increased programming costs and adverse currency swings, they said.

CanWest Global has already reported results for its Australian and New Zealand operations, but has yet to report operating results for Ireland, the National Post and its Canadian television assets.

"Notwithstanding difficult operating conditions and lack of an easily identifiable catalyst, we continue to believe CanWest shares are attractively valued," said Andrea Horan, an analyst at Genuity Capital Markets. On the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday, CanWest subordinate-voting shares closed unchanged at $9.45, down from their 52-week high of $15.78 last Aug. 31.

Recovery in the shares of CanWest Global is increasingly unlikely for the next two years or so, said CIBC World Markets Inc. The television markets are poor and programming costs are rising, it said.

Programming costs can account for 60 per cent to 65 per cent of the operating costs for a broadcaster, RBC said. It has an "outperform" rating and a 12-month share price target of $15.50 for CanWest Global.

CanWest MediaWorks went public when CanWest Global raised $550-million through the sale of 55 million units covered by a prospectus dated Oct. 7, 2005. The majority of the newspaper circulation is in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

The National Post is not part of the income trust.

Analysts forecast Astral Media had a profit of 49 cents a share during the first quarter, compared with 45 cents a year earlier, while Corus is forecast to have made 65 cents a share, compared with 59 cents a year earlier, according to Thomson First Call. Analysts estimate CHUM made 74 cents during the first quarter, compared with 78 cents a year earlier.

Other companies reporting tomorrow include cable and media companies such as Cogeco Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.

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