Chairman’s Report 30th September 1985
In my report to you last year I describe the business atmosphere in which we operate as a ‘very difficult’, the market for advertising as ‘fiercely competitive’ and the share of national sales obtained by small stations in the network as a ‘concern’. All these descriptions hold good for 1985; as you will see from the figures, the company managed to increase marginally the gross sales figures at the net level level a fall of 2% was suffered. We did however, have a considerable success in reducing our costs and we are fortunate to have a Managing Director so committed to making a success of our company. The enclosed accounts show substantial reductions in the various costs headings, totalling almost £100,000, or 13 percent below last year. Although the result is still shows a loss, the position is an enormous improvement on last year, especially at the trading level. The very large interest charge is of course dictated by the size of the bank borrowings and that will not improve until they are reduced. The board feels that we have now reached a position where we can justify putting forward proposals to that end and they are outlined in a separate letter enclosed with these accounts.
The year has been a busy one end and a succession of very credible initiatives has taken to maximise the income.
In the early part in the year we promoted another Bridal Fare which is now become a successful annual event, and, as a new venture, we devised the Bandwagon leaflet, a collection of promotional offers which was delivered through the post to every household in the main listening area. The advertisers who took part were well pleased with its response and DevonAir received some useful publicity for arranging it.
In order to raise our profile even higher in the community we acquired, in partnership with Plymouth Sound, a mobile promotions unit which enables us to attend public events and holiday attractions and to bring our staff and presenters to the closer attention of our listeners. During the summer this vehicle was co-funded by Cadbury’s Wispa who were delighted with the promotional exposure they received. You may have seen it about in its eye-catching livery during the summer tour. And to further our outside broadcast capability Nicky Bennett, our Chief Engineer, has fitted out a Bedford van as a broadcasting vehicle. This is a great step forward which allows us to cover events or broadcast commercials live from our customer’s premises at short notice and without the expense and delay of arranging Post Office landlines. Our presence at the County Show was the liveliest as yet when we presented the Wurzels and Rod Hull with Emu, much to the delight of the younger members of the audience. It is at continued challenge to devise new ways of promoting ourselves and our customers that David Cousins is building a formidable reputation for skill and innovation in this field. He is working on a number of ideas which will widen our appeal to advertisers.
There were two changes in the composition of the board during the year; we were delighted to elect Jim Gibbons, Head of News, as a director, but we were very sorry to say goodbye to Rosemary Mercer who moved away from here last summer. She had been with us since the start and had contributed much during the years of her involvement. More recently, we were very pleased that Richard Hurst has agreed to join about the board. He is the secretary of Redifussion PLC and a director of other radio stations, including Capital. We look forward to receiving a great deal of help and advice from his wide experience in the industry.
The continuing popularity of the programming and presentation is daily evidenced by the response to competitions and phone-ins, but especially to the tremendous success of our annual charity appeal. Last year we raised no less than £21,000 for the Wheels Appeal to buy two specially adapted vehicles for the use of the handicapped people. This was far and away a record total and happily coincided with our fifth anniversary on air. We are lucky to have such a generous body of listeners and such committed and hard-working staff. I am very grateful indeed to everyone who has worked so hard in difficult circumstances to produce such popular output.
Ian Amory