French radio broadcaster NRJ H1 sales down 8.4 pct

PARIS, July 23 (Reuters) - French radio group NRJ (SONO.PA) posted an 8.4 percent fall in half-year sales to 175.7 million euros ($276.4 million) on Wednesday, citing a downbeat advertising market.

The group, which runs French radio stations such as NRJ, Nostalgie, and Cherie-FM, said in a statement that sales were down 8.3 percent when excluding the impact of currency translation.

NRJ's core French radio business generated sales of 114.1 million euros, down from 120 million in the first half of 2007, impacted by what the group described as a "slack" advertising market.

Commenting on the third quarter, NRJ said French radio sales in July were down year on year and added it had poor visibility over the rest of the quarter.

NRJ made no further comments on its outlook.

Revenues from international radio and television rose 7.4 percent to 17.4 million euros, and 197.4 percent to 11.3 million euros, respectively.

NRJ's shares have fallen almost 10 percent since the start of 2008. They closed up 3.2 percent at 6.45 euros before the results, giving a market capitalisation of 540 million euros.