Communications investors on hold for this week's results

It's a week of nail-biting for communications investors as four of Canada's largest broadcasting and cable companies report earnings results.

On Thursday, Astral Media Inc., Cogeco Inc. and cable unit Cogeco Cable Inc., all of Montreal, report second-quarter results.

Specialty broadcaster Astral is expected to report a profit of 46 cents a share, up from 41 cents a year earlier. (All earnings forecasts are mean estimates of analysts polled by Thomson First Call.)

Speculation of a deal in the consolidating media sector pushed Astral's class A shares to a high of $46.88 in January. In February, Astral agreed to swallow Toronto's Standard Broadcasting Corp. Ltd. for about $1.2-billion.

But negotiations with the Toronto radio giant have "dragged out," reported UBS Investment Research in a recent note. Eight of eleven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg have "hold" ratings on Astral. The stock was up 20 cents to $41.76 on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday.

Bay Street is more upbeat on Cogeco and Cogeco Cable. Analysts expect share profit of 19 cents for Cogeco, up from 16 cents, and 31 cents for the cable unit, up from 26 cents.

The shares of Cogeco Cable, the more liquid operating unit, have been on a tear, closing up 40 cents to $43.80 on the TSX yesterday. News of a European expansion pushed shares to the $20 range in June last year.

These days, the market is cheering the company's telecom success as it gobbles up market share from incumbent BCE Inc. in Quebec and Ontario. Ten of 11 analysts have "buy" ratings on the shares, Bloomberg reports.

Telecom will be top of mind too when cable giant Shaw Communications Inc. reports second-quarter results Friday. The Calgary cable giant is locked in a heated market share battle with Vancouver's Telus Corp. Analysts like Shaw's odds and forecast a profit of 33 cents a share, up from 21 cents. Class B shares closed up 49 cents to $44.25 yesterday.

And finally, CanWest Global Communications Corp. will release its second-quarter results Friday. Analysts expect profit of 1 cent a share, compared with a 12-cent loss a year earlier.

The stock rose 15 cents to $11.55 yesterday, up sharply from the $8 range last fall. In January, analysts applauded the conventional TV broadcaster's move into the growing specialty TV market through the acquisition of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.