Euromoney Institutional Investor – trading update – half year profits of not less than £47M

April 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, the international publishing, events and electronic information group, has issued a trading update ahead of the announcement of its results for the half year to March 31, 2012.

Group revenues for the six months to March 31, 2012 are expected to show an increase of 13% to £189 million.  Underlying revenues, excluding the impact of last year’s acquisition of Ned Davis Research (NDR), increased by approximately 5%.  Headline subscription revenues are expected to have increased by 22%, and accounted for 53% (2011: 49%) of the group’s revenues for the period.  Underlying subscription revenues, excluding NDR, increased by approximately 7%, continuing the good momentum from 2011. Advertising and sponsorship revenues are down by 8%. The stronger performance of delegate revenues in the second quarter was mostly due to timing differences on events and the impact of the political unrest in the Middle East on delegate bookings last year.

The following table summarises the expected year-on-year revenue changes for the six months to March 31 at both headline rates and at constant currency:

For the half year to March 31, 2012, Euromoney expects to announce an adjusted profit before tax* of not less than £47 million (2011: £41.6 million).  The adjusted operating margin^ is expected to be unchanged at 30%.

Group net debt at March 31, 2012 is expected to be no more than £90 million, down from £119.2 million at September 30, 2011.  The reduction in net debt largely reflects the continued strong operating cash flows of the group.

Recent sales trends suggest the outlook for advertising revenues remains challenging, while the outlook for the events businesses, for which the third quarter is the most important of the year, is positive.  Overall trading remains in line with the board’s expectations.

The half year results will be announced on the morning of May 17, 2012, followed by an analyst presentation and investor meetings. Euromoney is participating in the DMGT investor day on April 18 when it will give a presentation covering the importance of emerging markets to its growth strategy.  No further comment on trading will be given at this meeting.

* Adjusted profit before tax is profit before tax, acquired intangible amortisation, exceptional items, deferred consideration adjustments and non-cash movements in acquisition option commitment values.

^ Adjusted operating profit is operating profit before acquired intangible amortisation, long-term incentive expense, exceptional items and share of results in associates.

UK, London

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UTV Media plc preliminary results for the year ended December 2011

March 20, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Radio, Television, New Media and Publishing company UTV Media plc has announced preliminary results for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Highlights

  • Record pre-tax profits –  up by 10% to £23.3m (2010: £21.3m)
  • Group revenue up by 2% to £121.6m (2010: £118.9m)
  • Revenue growth of 6% in Radio GB
  • Irish Radio Revenues down by 4%
  • Television revenue up by 1% with net advertising revenue in line with the ITV Network
  • Group operating profit up by 3% to £26.8m (2010: £26.1m)
  • 23% or £16.8m reduction in net debt over 12 months to £54.7m (2010: £71.5m)
  • Net debt reduced by 49% over the last 3 years, a reduction of £52.9m
  • Net finance costs down by 26% to £3.5m (2010: £4.7m)
  • Impairment charge of £45.0m recognised on Republic of Ireland intangible assets with £19.0m due to higher Republic of Ireland sovereign debt risk
  • Pension deficit of £8.6m (2010: £6.8m) despite significant movement in discount rate (2011: 4.80% versus 2010: 5.40%)
  • Diluted adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations up by 12% to 18.96p (2010: 16.93p)
  • Proposed final dividend of 4.50p (2010: 3.00p) resulting in a full year dividend up by 50% to 6.00p (2010: 4.00p)

John McCann, Group Chief Executive, UTV Media plc, said, “I’m very pleased with the company’s performance against what has remained a testing economic background. The strength of these numbers firmly reflects UTV’s commitment to deliver innovative programming across platforms, driving audience share while at the same time effectively managing costs within the business and paying down our debt facilities. We remain committed to our strategy of delivering value through the development of a diversified portfolio of leading media assets. I am confident this foundation will see the business continue to perform into 2012.”

For full details click here

UK, Belfast

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Aegis Group plc announces preliminary results for 2011

March 15, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Aegis Group plc has announced preliminary results for 2011.

Highlights:

  • Group organic revenue growth of 9.9% (2010: 5.3%), including 12.0% in fourth quarter
  • Group underlying operating margin of 17.4% (2010: 16.1%)
  • Strong performances from digital, faster-growing regions and North America
  • Record-equalling year in net new business, with $2.7 billion in billings (2010: $2.0 billion)
  • Aegis now a unique, scaled media and digital communications specialist, following sale of Synovate for enterprise value of £525m
  • Continued focus on acquisitions, with around £75m spent in initial consideration on 18 bolt-on acquisitions and investments in 2011
  • Appointment as global strategic media partner by General Motors Co. (“GM”) in January 2012, with anticipated annual global media spend of $3 billion
  • Proposed total dividend (excluding special dividend) increased to 3.20p, from 2.75p in 2010, including proposed final dividend of 2.01p
  • Expect to deliver continued sector-leading organic revenue growth and further improvement in underlying operating profit in 2012

 

Full details and notes on accounts are available here

Jerry Buhlmann, Chief Executive Officer of Aegis Group plc, said, “Aegis Group delivered a very strong performance in 2011, reporting sector-leading organic growth, positive margin progression and a record-equaling year in net new business wins of $2.7 billion.

“The successful sale of Synovate represented the largest structural change in our history and gives the Group increased flexibility to move ahead with our programme of targeted acquisitions and investments. We completed 18 acquisitions and investments in 2011, and they have improved our core capabilities and positioning in a number of key geographies. This is in line with our strategy to increase revenue contribution from digital, faster-growing regions and North America.

“All these achievements, coupled with recent successes, including our appointment as GM’s global strategic media partner, leave us well placed as the world’s leading specialist media and digital communications group. We are better positioned than ever before to support our clients in re-inventing the way their brands are built.

“We are optimistic about the outlook for the advertising sector in 2012, supported by key sporting events and the US Presidential Elections, and we anticipate further success for the Group in the year ahead and beyond. We expect to continue delivering sector-leading organic revenue growth which we expect to convert into further margin progression and earnings enhancement for our shareholders over time.”

UK, London

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Trinity Mirror – preliminary results for 2011.

March 15, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Trinity Mirror PLC has announced preliminary results for 2011.

Highlights

  • Total revenues fell to £746.6m during the year
  • Operating profit declined to £104.5m
  • Profits impacted by input cost increases
  • Newsprint prices increased by £22m; without newsprint increase operating profit would have seen a year-on-year increase
  • Increase in costs partially off-set by structural savings of £25m during the year and further cost reductions
  • Secured new financing to support business for the foreseeable future (see DigiNet article)
  • Reduced pension funding obligations
  • Resilient cash flows, improving financial position and secure longer term financing will underpin value proposition of business

 

Full details are available here

UK, London

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Trinity Mirror secures new financing facilities to August 2015

March 15, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Trinity Mirror PLC has secured new bank facilities to August 2015 ahead of the expiry of the Group’s bank facility in June 2013. The committed bank facilities are as follows:-

  • a new £110 million bank facility expiring in August 2015. The new facility is available from June 2013 or earlier if the current facility is cancelled. The new facility reduces to £102 million in March 2014 and to £94 million in March 2015.
  • the current £178.5 million bank facility expiring in June 2013 remains undrawn and has been reduced to £135 million with immediate effect.
  • financial covenants attached to the new  facility are a minimum interest cover of 4 times increasing in steps to 5 times from July 2013 and a maximum net debt to EBTIDA ratio of 2.75 times falling in steps to 2.25 times in January 2015. In addition, there is a cash flow covenant requiring a minimum cash flow, before interest, acquisitions and dividends of £40 million.

As part of the refinancing process, the Group reached agreement with the Trustees of the Group’s Pension Schemes to reduce deficit funding payments for 2012, 2013 and 2014 to £10 million per annum, before reverting to normalised funding payments of some £33 million per annum from 2015.

UK, London

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The new bank facility and reduced pension contributions ensure that the Group has sufficient financial flexibility for the foreseeable future.  The cash flow of the Group coupled with the flexibility of the new bank facility ensures the Group can repay £168 million of maturing US$ private placement loan notes which are due as follows:

 

·          June 2012:         £69.7 million

·          October 2013:    £54.5 million

·          June 2014:         £44.2 million

 

As part of the agreement with the Trustees of the Group’s Pension Schemes, additional discretionary payments can be made by the Group during 2012 to 2014 with mandatory additional contributions required over this period in the event:

 

·          EBITDA were to be greater than £145 million for 2012 and 2013 and EBITDA were to be greater than £130 million in 2014. In this instance contribution equal to 50% of the excess would be required to the Pension Schemes;and

·          Dividends were declared and paid by the Group. In this instance contributions equal to the dividend payment would be required to be paid the Pension Schemes.

 

The new bank facility was co-ordinated by The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and Lloyds TSB Bank plc.

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Mecom Group announces 2011 results

March 14, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Mecom Group PLC has announced its results for the year-ending 2012

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Adjusted EBITDA from ongoing operations down €7.2 million to €113.6 million
  • Non-advertising revenues up 1 per cent to €594.4 million, representing 56 per cent of total revenue
  • Advertising revenues down 7 per cent to €461.5 million
  • Net debt reduced by €52.2 million to €258.5 million. Net debt : EBITDA ratio of 1.8 times 2011 (2010: 2.0 times)
  • Group earnings per share increased to 46.2 euro cents per share
  • Final dividend of 9.9 euro cents per share; full year dividend of 15.4 euro cents per share
  • New strategy based on implementation of pay model across all platforms, including mobile, and €70 million cost reduction programme
  • Agreement on purchase of Wegener minority announced separately today – simplifies Group structure, provides operational and commercial efficiencies and will enhance earnings per share

Notes

  1. From ongoing operations, that is excluding Mecom Norway and Presspublica; stated before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.
  2. Excluding results of Presspublica, which was sold during 2011; stated before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.
  3. For total Group, that is including Mecom Norway and Presspublica; stated before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.

Tom Toumazis, Chief Executive Officer, said, “The 2011 financial results emphasise again the value of our 1.2 million subscribers that deliver over 80 per cent of our EBITDA, particularly in an environment where advertising revenues continue to be under pressure. The announcements we have made on the purchase of the minority shareholder in Wegener and the termination of the De Pers contract will greatly simplify the ownership structure and management of our Dutch operations and, in the case of De Pers, will remove a considerable, and growing, operating and financial risk.  We can now focus unambiguously on the modernisation plan that we set out in our Strategy Update on 24th January. Early indications are that 2012 will be another tough year economically.  Our new strategy based on paid platforms, our cost cutting plans across our three markets and the strength of our non-advertising revenues, position us well to address the challenges that this will bring.”

More information is available here.

UK, London

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Reed Elsevier results for 2011

March 13, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

 

Reed Elsevier has published its Annual Reports and Financial Statements 2011 for the Reed Elsevier Combined Businesses, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV

2011 highlights ƒƒ

  • Underlying revenue up 2% (3% excluding biennial exhibition cycling) ƒƒ
  • Underlying adjusted operating profit up 5%; up 4% at constant currencies ƒƒ
  • Adjusted EPS up 8% to 46.7p for Reed Elsevier PLC; up 6% to €0.83 for Reed Elsevier NV ƒƒ
  • Reported EPS up 19% to 32.4p for Reed Elsevier PLC; up 16% to €0.59 for Reed Elsevier NV ƒƒ
  • Full year dividend up 6% to 21.55p for Reed Elsevier PLC and €0.436 for Reed Elsevier NV ƒƒ
  • Net debt of £3.4bn; 2.3 times adjusted EBITDA (pensions and lease adjusted)

The following documents are avaialable at www.reedelsevier.com:

  • Annual Reports and Financial Statements 2011 for the Reed Elsevier Combined Businesses, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV (the “2011 Financial Statements”);
  • Reed Elsevier NV Corporate Governance Statement 2011;
  • Agenda with explanatory notes for the Reed Elsevier NV 2012 Annual General Meeting (the “NV 2012 AGM Agenda”) to be held in Amsterdam on 24 April 2012;
  • Notice for the Reed Elsevier PLC 2012 Annual General Meeting (the “PLC 2012 AGM Notice”) to be held in London on 25 April 2012; and
  • Corporate Responsibility Report 2011.

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World Energy Solutions achieves record results

March 9, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Energy management services firm World Energy Solutions has announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Financial Highlights

  • Annual revenue grew 17% to $21.1 million
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $2.9 million for the year
  • Gross margins for the year increased 2% to 81%
  • Cash from operations $3.6 million for the year
  • Cash and cash equivalents at year end were $1.8 million, with no bank debt
  • Subsequent to year end, expanded credit facility to $5 million

Acquisitions in the year

Three acquisitions:

“2011 was a transformational year for World Energy,” said Richard Domaleski, CEO of World Energy Solutions. “We posted record revenue and record net income – a full year of profitability – and completed our 9th consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA. We exit the year with our highest levels of both annual and total backlog. Additionally, we advanced our leadership in energy management and seeded future growth through a series of strategic moves, culminating in the acquisition of three companies in late 2011, which together have brought us new customers, capabilities and revenue streams.

“Looking across the business today, World Energy has never been stronger. We are gaining market share with a differentiated offering that is clearly resonating with customers; successfully renewing contracts with, and deepening our penetration of, existing accounts; and continuing to expand our network of regional and national channel partners. And now with our newly acquired teams rapidly gaining traction in their respective markets, we reiterate our expectation to grow revenue by 40-60% in 2012, with profit increasing at an even faster rate.”

USA, Worcester, MA

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Axel Springer achieves double-digit growth in revenues and earnings in 2011

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Axel Springer has announced full year results for 2011.

Highlights

  • EBITDA rises 16.2 percent to EUR 593.4 million
  • EBITDA margin improves to 18.6 percent
  • Revenues grow by 10.1 percent
  • Digital Media with significant increase in revenues and earnings
  • Proposed dividend of EUR 1.70

Axel Springer achieved record results in 2011. Group EBITDA rose by 16.2% and total revenues improved by 10.1% over the previous year. This was due to significant growth of earnings and revenues in the Digital Media and Print International segments as well as the continued high profitability of the national print media. The Magazines National segment even posted a record EBITDA. The company grew both organically and through acquisitions. The EBITDA margin rose from 17.6% for the previous year to 18.6%. The results slightly exceeded Axel Springer’s earnings guidance, which was issued in March and later revised upward due to the anticipated revenue growth. The dividend is expected to increase to €1.70 per share (PY: €1.60).

The 2011 annual report can be downloaded from www.axelspringer.de/fy11

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Germany, Berlin

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Tarsus Group plc – Final results for the year ended 31 December 2011

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Tarsus Group plc, the international business-to-business media group, has published final results for the year ended 31 December 2011. Adjusted pre-tax profits are up 77% and net debt has been halved. Tarsus also continued to implement rapidly its strategy of developing businesses in the Emerging Markets, with these operations now contributing approximately 38% of Group revenues.

Financial highlights

  • Revenue up 42% to £61.7m (2010: £43.6m)
  • Like-for-like revenues up 8%
  • Adjusted profit before tax up 77% to £16.8m (2010: £9.5m)
  • Adjusted earnings per share up 63% to 17.0p (2010: 10.4p)
  • Proposed final dividend of 4.2p, total for year up 5% to 6.3p (2010: 6.0p)
  • Net debt halved to £13.7m (31 December 2010 £28.6m) – ahead of expectations

Operational highlights

  • Emerging Markets continued to grow strongly – 38% of proforma Group revenues
  • Major strategic expansion into Turkey – acquisition of IFO
  • Medical Division achieved 23% organic revenue growth
  • Labelexpo Europe and Asia (China) both produced record results
  • Dubai Airshow, the Group’s largest event, grew revenues by 3%, attendance up 7%

Outlook

  • Forward bookings represent approximately 53% of anticipated full year revenues (2010: 49%).
  • Off Price February 2012 revenues up 7%

Financial Results

 

2011

2010

2009
Revenue (£m)

61.7

43.6

57.5
Like-for-like* revenue growth

8%

6%

1%
Profit before tax (£m)

3

5.3

6.8
Adjusted profit before tax* (£m)

16.8

9.5

14.6
Adjusted EPS* (pence)

17

10.4

17.4
Dividend (pence)

6.3

6

6
Net Debt (£m)

13.7

28.6

30.8

Neville Buch, Chairman of Tarsus, commented, “2011 was a record year with the Group achieving a strong financial performance, both on a year-on-year and biennial basis, and we have halved our debt level. “We are on course to achieve our target of securing 50% of our revenues from the Emerging Markets by 2013 with revenues currently at 38% on a proforma basis. This was achieved alongside a stronger than expected performance by the US business. “We have now established strong positions in the US, China, Turkey and the Middle East and are focused on continuing to build our portfolio in these markets through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth. Our increasing exposure to the higher growth opportunities across these markets, in the short to medium term, should drive earnings and dividends. In the current year we are encouraged by the momentum in both our US and Emerging Markets businesses, where bookings are tracking ahead of their comparative events.”

UK, London

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