UBM 2011 results

February 28, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM plc has reported 2011 results.

Highlights

  • Revenues up 9.3% to £972.3m – underlying revenue(a) growth of 7.9%
  • Adjusted operating profit up 17.5% at £201.9m
  • Margin up to 20.8% from 19.3%
  • Fully diluted adjusted EPS up to a record of 56.8p, 6.6p (13.1%) up on 2010
  • Full year dividend up to a record of 26.3p, (2010: 25.0p)
  • Cash generation from operating activities up 31.7% to £203.7m (100.7% cash conversion)
  • Events profits up 44.6% to £135.2m, 62.5% of total excluding corporate costs
  • Emerging Markets revenues up 24.4% to £207.1m
  • Emerging Markets operating profit up 33.4% to £65.6m representing 30.4% of total
  • £71.2m invested in eight acquisitions
  • Debt profile improved with maturities extended, net debt of 2.4x EBITDA

David Levin, UBM’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:  “2011 has been a strong year for UBM, with EPS up over 13% to a record 56.8p.  An outstanding performance from our Q4 biennial events capped off a year of consistent delivery in which all our businesses met or exceeded their targets for the year. On the back of these results, the Board has declared a final dividend of 20p, up 1p over 2010, resulting in a record dividend for the year.”

“These results are the fruit of our consistent strategy to focus on providing marketing, communications and data services, in winning formats, to thriving business communities.  Our Emerging Markets revenues grew by more than 24% during 2011 and contributed just under a third of our overall profits: in 2011 we generated more revenue in China than in Europe for the first time. Our Events business performed particularly well and 1.7 million people attended UBM events in 2011, up from 1.3 million in 2010 with profits growing by 45%. The solid performance of Data Services and PR Newswire in 2011 reflects the initial benefits of our continuing investment in these businesses. Our Marketing Services businesses also continue to develop well, with the combined effects of continuing strong digital growth and print disposals likely to result in online revenues outstripping print revenues in 2012.”

“2012 trading has started well. We anticipate continued underlying growth and a positive performance across the business whilst recognising the continuing uncertainties of the global economy.”

Business performance

Full Year 2011

Full Year 2010

Change %

Change at CC

%

Underlying Change %
Revenue

£972.3m

£889.2m

9.3

11.3

7.9
Adjusted operating profit

£201.9m

£171.8m

17.5

19.8

2.3
Adjusted operating profit margin

20.8%

19.3%

1.5%pts

 

 
EBITDA

£218.7m

£188.2m

16.2

 

Adjusted PBT

£177.4m

£156.4m

13.4

 

 
Adjusted EPS

Fully diluted adjusted EPS

57.8p

56.8p

51.0p

50.2p

13.3

13.1

 

 
Dividend per share

26.3p

25.0p

5.2

 

 
Cash generated from Operations

£203.7m

£154.7m

31.7

 

 

 

 
IFRS Statutory results (£m)

Full Year
2011

Full Year
2010

Change
%
Revenue

972.3

889.2

9.3
Operating profit

155.4

132.3

17.5
Profit after tax

86.1

99.4

(13.4)
EPS (p)

31.1

37.3

(16.6)
Net Debt

526.4

484.6

 

 

 

  

Operational Highlights

Segmental results

 

Full Year

Full Year

Change

Change at CC

Underlying Change
£m

2011

2010

%

%

%
Revenue

Events

396.9

310.0

28.0

30.8

14.6
PR Newswire

187.8

181.2

3.6

6.6

4.2
Data Services

187.0

184.7

1.2

2.3

3.0
Marketing Services – Online

88.5

69.2

27.9

31.7

16.4
Marketing Services – Print

112.1

144.1

(22.2)

(22.0)

(4.6)
Total Revenue

972.3

889.2

9.3

11.3

7.9
 

 

 

 
Adjusted Operating Profit

 

 

 
Events

135.2

93.5

44.6

47.9

 
PR Newswire

41.0

42.1

(2.6)

0.2

 
Data Services

30.3

34.1

(11.1)

(11.1)

 
Marketing Services – Online

3.6

1.3

176.9

200.0

 
Marketing Services – Print

6.1

10.0

(39.0)

(40.2)

 
Net corporate costs

(14.3)

(9.2)

(55.4)

(55.4)

 
Total Adjusted Operating Profit

201.9

171.8

17.5

19.8

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
Adjusted Operating Profit Margin          
Events

34.1%

30.2%

3.9%pts

  
PR Newswire

21.8%

23.2%

(1.4)%pts

  
Data Services

16.2%

18.5%

(2.3)%pts

  
Marketing Services – Online

4.1%

1.9%

2.2%pts

  
Marketing Services – Print

5.4%

6.9%

(1.5)%pts

  
Total Adjusted Operating Profit Margin      

20.8%

19.3%

1.5%pts

 

 

Read the full announcement

UK, London

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A Fusion Deal: Fertilizer market information and analysis business Fertecon sold to Informa Group

February 28, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our second deal of 2012. The sale of fertilizer market information and analysis business Fertecon Limited to Informa Group.

FERTECON, founded in 1978, provides on subscription only,  price discovery, current information and analysis services to the global fertilizer industry.  Its data and forecasts are used by virtually all the leading fertilizer companies in the world as well as by many financial institutions.

Barrie Bain, Chairman and one of the founders of FERTECON Limited said, “This is an exciting development. FERTECON is an excellent fit with Informa’s Agra group. Agricultural developments drive the fertilizer market and the combination of FERTECON fertilizer industry knowledge with Agra’s insight into the agrifoodsector will create a unique resource of information and analysis. Informa’s knowledge of the food, freight, and energy sectors will significantly enhance FERTECON’s services to the fertilizer industry. FERTECON has a great team of market analysts and now they will have access to the resources of the Informa Group. ”

Barrie Bain and Vivien Bright, two of the former shareholders and directors of FERTECON Limited, will join Informa to help build FERTECON within the Group. Terry Phillips, the third shareholder and director, will work on a consultancy basis for the FERTECON business.

Paul Slight, Director at Fusion, said, “It was a pleasure to work with Barrie, Vivien and Terry. They have built a great business over the last 30 years and it will be an excellent fit with Informa’s Agra group.”

Fusion acted exclusively for the shareholders of Fertecon Limited. The team responsible for this transaction were Paul Slight (pslight@fusioncorp.co.uk) and Paul Kelly (pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk). Waterfront Solicitors, headed by Matthew Cunningham, provided legal advice to the vendors.

UK, London and Tunbridge Wells, Kent

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3. Events, Broadcast and Other deals
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72% rise in profits at Pearson

February 28, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson Plc has reported 2011 Preliminary results.

 

Financial performance

  • Sales up 6% at CER in spite of tough trading conditions in many markets.
  • Adjusted operating profit up 12% to £942m with growth in all businesses.
  • Adjusted EPS up 12% to 86.5p (headline growth).
  • Cash conversion remains strong at 104%; operating cash flow of £983m (£1,057m in 2010, which benefited from an unusually high working capital contribution).
  • Return on invested capital of 9.1%, above Pearson’s cost of capital; ROIC lower than in 2010 largely due to significant acquisition spend and higher cash tax.

Growth markets

Digital revenues up 18% in headline terms to £2bn, now 33% of Pearson’s sales. Substantial digital growth in all parts of Pearson including:

  • Students using digital learning programmes up 23% to 43m.
  • Penguin eBook revenues up 106%; now 12% of total Penguin revenues.
  • FT digital subscriptions up 29% to 267,000; approximately 44% of total paid circulation.

Developing markets revenues up 24% in headline terms to $1bn ($834m in 2010), now 11% of Pearson’s sales.

Other highlights

  •  Operating margins reach 16.1% (up 1.0% points)
  • £896m invested in acquisitions including Schoolnet and Connections Education in North America and Global Education in China.
  • Balance sheet net debt of £499m – approximately £1bn of headroom available for bolt-on acquisitions.
  • Dividend raised 9% to 42.0p, representing Pearson’s 20th consecutive dividend increase.

Outlook

  • Pearson expects to achieve continued sales and operating profit growth in 2012, in spite of tough trading conditions and rapid industry change.
  • Revenues from digital and services businesses expected to exceed revenues from traditional publishing businesses in 2012.

Marjorie Scardino, chief executive, said: “The external environment provides a testing backdrop for these results, and all our industries face some degree of turbulence. But our strategy and long-term planning for change have helped us to another good year to add to our record of persistent out-performance. We believe those qualities, combined with the commitment and innovation of our people, will continue to serve our customers and our shareholders well.”

Financial summary

£ millions

2011

2010

Headline growth

CER growth

Underlying growth
Business performance
Sales

5,862

5,663

4%

6%

1%
Adjusted operating profit*

942

857

10%

12%

7%
Adjusted earnings per share

86.5p

77.5p

12%

Operating cash flow

983

1,057

(7)%

Free cash flow

772

904

(15)%

Free cash flow per share

96.5p

112.8p

(14)%

Return on invested capital

9.1%

10.3%

(1.2)% pts

Net Debt

499

430

(16)%

Statutory results
Sales

5,862

5,663

4%

Operating profit

1,226

743

65%

Profit before tax

1,155

670

72%

Basic earnings per share

119.6p

161.9p

(26)%

Cash generated from operations

1,093

1,169

(7)%

Dividend per share

42.0p

38.7p

9%

* Continuing operations

Divisional analysis

£ millions

2011

2010

Headline growth

CER growth

Underlying growth
Sales
North American Education

2,584

2,640

(2)%

1%

(1)%
International Education

1,424

1,234

15%

15%

4%
Professional

382

333

15%

17%

2%
FT Group

427

403

6%

8%

7%
Penguin

1,045

1,053

(1)%

1%

1%
Total

5,862

5,663

4%

6%

1%
Adjusted operating profit
North American Education

493

469

5%

9%

8%
International Education

196

171

15%

13%

2%
Professional

66

51

29%

31%

10%
FT Group

76

60

27%

22%

17%
Penguin

111

106

5%

8%

8%
Total continuing

942

857

10%

12%

7%

Read the full announcement

UK, London

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Thomson Reuters full year and fourth quarter results

February 10, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Thomson Reuters has reported results for the full year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011. Results include a $50 million charge primarily related to a reorganisation of the former Markets division incurred in the fourth quarter. The company also announced it had taken a $3.0 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to its financial services business. This charge is excluded from adjusted earnings, adjusted EBITDA and underlying operating profit.

The company reported full-year revenues from ongoing businesses of $12.9 billion, an increase of 5% before currency from the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA increased 20% from the prior year with the corresponding margin up 280 basis points to 26.4%. Underlying operating profit increased 9% from the prior year with the corresponding margin up 50 basis points to 20.0%. The reorganisation charge had a 40 basis point negative impact on both the full-year adjusted EBITDA and underlying operating profit margins.

“Our results once again proved the resilience of our business,” said James C. Smith, chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters. “The units in the former Professional division continued to perform well and we made significant strides in kick-starting the growth engine in our former Markets division.”

“We have simplified our organization; we have strengthened our management team; and we are making progress toward improving our execution capability,” Mr. Smith said. “We are focused in 2012 on a series of product launches and service improvements across all our key customer groups.”

 

  • Revenues from ongoing businesses were $12.9 billion, a 5% increase before currency. Strong growth across the Professional division, up 9%, and a 2% increase in Markets division revenues drove the overall increase.
  • Adjusted EBITDA increased 20% and the corresponding margin was 26.4% versus 23.6% in the prior year. Excluding the reorganization charge, adjusted EBITDA increased 21% and the corresponding margin increased 320 basis points to 26.8%.
  • Underlying operating profit increased 9% and the corresponding margin was 20.0% versus 19.5% in 2010. Excluding the reorganization charge, underlying operating profit increased 12% and the corresponding margin increased 90 basis points to 20.4%.
  • Adjusted EBITDA growth and underlying operating profit growth across both divisions was due to flow-through from higher revenues, integration savings and the benefit of currency. Adjusted EBITDA also benefited from lower integration expenses. Excluding currency, adjusted EBITDA increased 17% and underlying operating profit increased 7%.
  • Adjusted EPS was $1.98 compared to $1.56 in the prior year. The increase was largely attributable to higher underlying operating profit and lower integration expenses. Adjusted EPS excluding the reorganization charge was $2.03. Currency had a $0.06 favorable impact on adjusted EPS.
  • Free cash flow was $1.6 billion, up 2%. Corporate expenses were $273 million versus $249 million in the prior year.
  • The company incurred a $3.0 billion goodwill impairment charge in the fourth quarter. This non-cash charge was the result of the company’s annual goodwill impairment testing required under IFRS and related to the company’s financial services business. On an IFRS basis, EPS including the goodwill impairment charge was a diluted loss per share of $1.67 for the full year. This non-cash charge will not impact the company’s normal business operations, nor will it affect liquidity, cash flow from operations or financial covenants under the company’s outstanding public debt securities or syndicated credit facility.

Click here for the fourth quarter results and full announcement

USA, New York

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Scripps provides revenue guidance for 2012

January 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

The E. W. Scripps Company has provided a broad outlook for the revenue performance of its television stations and newspapers in 2012.

For the full year 2012, total television revenues should increase by more than 50 percent. That includes more than $100 million of revenue for the stations that were acquired from McGraw-Hill Broadcasting Company on December 30, 2011.

Excluding the newly acquired stations, television revenue should increase more than 15 percent, fueled by low-to-mid-single-digit growth of core revenue, and political revenue that should exceed the $42 million figure reported in the previous presidential election cycle.

Newspaper revenue should be down slightly to approximately $400 million.

The commentary was part of prepared remarks at the Noble Financial Equity Conference. A replay can be heard by visiting the investor relations page at www.scripps.com.

More-detailed guidance for the first quarter of 2012 will be released when the company reports its year-end earnings in February.

USA, Cincinnati, OH

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The E.W. Scripps Company third quarter results Posted on November 9, 2011

 

 

Posted in Broadcasting, Company Results, Internet Media, Market Data & Information, Publishers, ~North America. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

Berkery Noyes releases 2011 year-end Financial Technology & Information Industry M&A Acquisitions Report

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet
Berkery Noyes has released its 2011 Full Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trend Report for the Financial Technology & Information Industry.

The report analyses the sector for 2011 and compares it with similar activity in 2009 and 2010. This market includes information and technology companies in capital markets, payments, banking, insurance and other related financial services.

  • The most active acquirer between 2009 and 2011 was Thomson Reuters with 11 transactions.
  • Total transaction volume in 2011 increased by 2 percent over 2010, from 266 to 271 transactions.
  • Total transaction value in 2011 increased by 43 percent over 2010, from $20.52 billion in 2010 to $29.78 billion this year.
  • The median revenue multiple increased from 2.2x in 2010 to 2.6x in 2011, while the median EBITDA multiple decreased from 13.5x to 11.6x.

There has been a consistent improvement in the number of Capital Markets transactions, which was the only segment that saw an increase from 2010 to 2011. Indeed, the most active market segment tracked by Berkery Noyes between 2009 and 2011 was Capital Markets with 254 transactions, 100 of which were announced or closed in 2011. The segment’s transaction value for the year was $18.17 billion.

“At present we are seeing destructive creativity going on in a number of financial service sectors,” said Peter Ognibene, Berkery Noyes managing director. “For instance, smart phones have become digital wallets and are enabling a host of banking and other mobile commerce activities. There has also been an increase in consumer focus on wealth management strategies. And as always in times of turmoil and uncertainty – there is a desire for more precise and forward looking risk management tools, especially enterprise-wide.”

Click here to read the full report.

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UK private equity investment in the £10M-£10OM market grows by 44%

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Data from the Lyceum Capital and Cass Business School UK Growth Buyout Dashboard shows that the UK has reinforced its position as the preeminent market for private equity investment in Europe, with activity in its lower mid-market having continued its strong recovery in 2011 to pre-recession levels of almost 100 deals.

Highlighting the segment’s robustness despite macro-economic challenges, the UK Growth Buyout Dashboard, revealed 44 per cent growth in the total number of transactions last year to 91, compared to 63 in 2010 and 34 deals in 2009.

The quarterly data, which analyses UK-headquartered private equity control deals in the £10 to £100 million enterprise value space, also shows that total deal value has more than trebled over the past three years, with aggregate values in excess of £3.4 billion last year compared to over £2.2 billion in 2010 and just above £1.0 billion in 2009.

Technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) was the stand-out sector – a trend which is likely to continue, driven by growth in innovative IT solutions such as cloud computing and mobile business applications. 26 TMT deals completed during 2011, contributing to 29 per cent of completed transactions, compared to 11 a year earlier and just four in 2009.

Click here to read the full UK Growth Buyout Dashboard.

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Elsevier acquires QUOSA

January 12, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Elsevier, the  provider of scientific, technical, and medical information products and services, has acquired QUOSA a content management and workflow productivity solutions provider for researchers and information managers.

QUOSA’s current solutions and platform, including its Information Manager and Virtual Library, will continue to be supported. QUOSA’s technological capabilities will be developed into Elsevier-branded solutions, raising the efficiency of the search and discovery process. They will also allow researchers and information professionals to manage information more efficiently at the various stages of the research workflow including organizing, archiving and sharing.

“Elsevier is focused on delivering productivity enhancing tools to researchers and information managers to help accelerate and promote scientific discovery. Our acquisition of QUOSA ensures that we continue to deliver more value to our customers by improving the search, retrieval, management, analysis and sharing of the increasingly disparate types of information required to improve research outcomes,” said Alexander van Boetzelaer, Managing Director of Elsevier Corporate Markets. “QUOSA brings to Elsevier an innovative offering and technological expertise that align well with Elsevier today.”

Elsevier and QUOSA have collaborated successfully since 2007 when the latter’s PDF Download Manager was incorporated in SciVerse Scopus.  Later the feature was embedded in SciVerse ScienceDirect. Elsevier’s acquisition of QUOSA marks a continuation of this collaboration which has boosted research productivity for the users of both solutions.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Boston, QUOSA began by targeting the academic and government segments and now also serves a range of corporate customers, including more than half of the Top 25 pharma-biotech companies. Financial details of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

The Netherlands, Amsterdam & USA, Boston, MA

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AdMedia’s Industry Survey – 2012 Mergers and Acquisitions Prospects for Media, Marketing Services and Related Technology Firms

January 10, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

AdMedia Partners has released its latest industry survey, “2012 Mergers and Acquisitions Prospects for Media, Marketing Services and Related Technology Firms.’

The report reveals the viewpoints of buyers and sellers regarding 2012 valuations, advertising spending, M&A activity, and key trends affecting all industry participants, such as the changing nature of content delivery, consumption and monetization.

Respondents were generally optimistic about prospects for their industries and their own businesses in the year ahead, and expect that strong M&A activity in 2011 will continue into 2012. They believe there will be an increase in M&A activity driven by strategic buyers with historic amounts of cash on their balance sheets, private equity firms with large amounts of uninvested capital and changing industry dynamics.

Specific survey findings include:

  • Fifty-nine percent of respondents expect to seek an acquisition, up markedly from last year when 40% had the same expectation.
  • Highlighting the fact that significant capital is sitting on the sidelines, 55% of respondents who anticipate making an acquisition expect to fund using existing cash reserves; in addition, 43% expect to raise outside equity (e.g., from a private equity firm) and 27% plan to use debt financing.
  • Almost half of respondents (48%) anticipate contemplating the sale of their company and/or subsidiary operation in 2012, a significant increase over the 36% who expressed this opinion in 2011.
  • Approximately three out of four respondents anticipate that M&A by strategic buyers will be up in 2012.
  • Almost half of respondents anticipate that M&A by financial buyers will be up in 2012.
  • The most popular areas of expansion interest within the services sector were analytics, social and mobile. User-generated content and mobile were hottest topics for content respondents.
  • Respondents predict that valuations will remain strong in 2012, particularly for mobile marketing, social marketing, and digital media firms.

Visit the AdMedia Partners website to download a full copy of the report.

Posted in Internet Media, Market Data & Information, Marketing Services, Research Reports, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America, ~Oceana. Tags: , . Leave a Comment »

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services acquires PRINGLE Compliance Polices & Procedures content

December 15, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, a worldwide provider of compliance, risk management and audit solutions for the financial services industry, has acquired the regulatory compliance content of PRINGLE Policy and Procedure Solutions from PRINGLE Publications Corporation. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“What sets Wolters Kluwer Financial Services apart from our competitors is our ability to deliver actionable and intelligent regulatory compliance and risk management content to our customers,” said Brian Longe, CEO of Wolters Kluwer Financial & Compliance Services. “This acquisition allows us to provide our customers with even more value by expanding access to the industry-leading PRINGLE compliance policies and procedures content to a larger number of financial institutions.”

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services will integrate PRINGLE’s compliance and safety and soundness policies and procedures, worksheets, forms, and regulatory checklists and tests into the Policies and Procedures module of the company’s ARC Logics for Financial Services enterprise risk management solution. The company will offer its ARC Logics customers with direct access to PRINGLE content through the module, which will provide a common, dynamic platform to proactively manage, edit, and update their policies and procedures.

USA, Minneapolis, MN

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