DMGT – preliminary results for the year to September 2013

November 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Daily Mail and General Trust plc has announced the group’s unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 30 September 2013

DMGT results 2013

 

Click on the table for an enlarged view.

Highlights:

  • Underlying revenue up 2%
  • Underlying operating profit up 6%
  • Margin up to 17%
  • Adjusted profit before tax of £282m, up 10%
  • B2B; underlying revenue up 6% and underlying profit up 4%
  • dmg media performance; underlying revenue decline of 1%, with cost efficiencies driving underlying profit growth of 10%
  • Progress on the £100 million share buy back programme, £69 million to date
  • Net debt reduced by £40 million to £573 million
  • Net debt/EBITDA ratio of 1.5
  • Earnings per share* up 7% to 53.0p
  • Full year dividend increased by 7% to 19.2p

Martin Morgan, Chief Executive, said:

“DMGT has again delivered a good set of results. Group adjusted pre-tax profits* rose by 10% despite the disposal of Northcliffe Media at the end of the first quarter, reflecting good underlying profit growth from both our B2B and consumer operations. Our international B2B companies have increased their revenues and profits* by 6% and 4% respectively on an underlying# basis. Our UK consumer business, dmg media, grew its underlying# profits* by 10%, reflecting greater productivity as the business continues its digital transition.

We continued to refine and optimise our portfolio of businesses during the year with further strategic bolt-on acquisitions, notably within dmg information and Euromoney, and disposals, including Northcliffe Media and dmg media’s central and eastern European consumer assets. We believe these changes have improved the overall quality and growth prospects of the Group and we look forward to another year of good progress.”

Read the full announcement at the DMGT website

UK, London

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ITE establishes a presence in China with the creation of Sinostar ITE Ltd

November 18, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

ITEITE Group‘s wholly owned subsidiary, International Trade and Exhibitions Overseas Ltd, has  established a 50:50 Joint Venture (“Sinostar ITE“), with Hong Kong based Worldcoat Exhibitions Ltd.

As part of the transaction, Sinostar ITE has acquired the ChinaCoat / SF China exhibition from Sinostar International Ltd, a company controlled by Mr Raymond Ho, owner of Worldcoat. ITE’s investment in Sinostar ITE is c. £33m, financed out of the Group’s existing cash and bank facilities and is expected to be earnings enhancing in the current financial year.

The ChinaCoat / SF China exhibition serves the paints, coatings and surface finishing industries in China and the surrounding region. The exhibition is held in November each year and alternates between Shanghai and Guangzhou. The upcoming 2013 exhibition will be held in Shanghai, marking the 26th edition of this event, which is expected to sell more than 35,000m2 net and be attended by over 30,000 professional visitors. The 2012 event, which took place in Guangzhou, was 31,000 m2 net and had more than 28,000 visitors.

Out of the total consideration of c.£33m, c.£30m was paid on completion with the balance payable in June 2014 once Sinostar ITE’s results for the period ended 31 March 2014 are available.  The value of the gross assets being acquired is c. £33m. The total profits generated by the assets acquired by Sinostar ITE in the period ended 31 March 2013 was £6.5m.

The owner of Worldcoat and the current CEO of Sinostar International, Mr Raymond Ho, will become CEO of Sinostar ITE.

ITE’s Chief Executive Officer, Russell Taylor, commented, “ITE has taken an important step in building a business in China. I am delighted that the creation of Sinostar ITE, in partnership with Worldcoat, further increases our business presence in Asia. This move represents progress in achieving the Group’s aims to expand its territorial operations in markets with further potential for growth.

UK, London & Hong Kong

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Electric Word acquires iGaming North America conference

November 8, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

electric wordElectric Word plc’s online gaming business iGB has acquired a 50% interest in SAM Media Ltd, a Nevada-based conference business that owns the annual iGaming North America conference. Electric Word’s interest is held through iGB’s wholly owned US subsidiary, iGamingBusiness North America Inc., a Delaware Corporation, and was acquired for a nominal sum.

igamingIn 2013, the iGaming North America conference achieved revenues of approximately $0.5m. The deal allows iGB to share in future profit growth above an agreed threshold and also gives each party a call option to acquire the others’ membership interest at a future date.

Julian Turner, EW’s Chief Executive, said: “The regulatory changes which continue to unfold in the USA make it a very interesting market for our online gaming information business. This deal builds on the launch of our iGaming North America magazine in 2012 and gives us a great opportunity to extend the brand further.”

UK, London and USA, Nevada

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Wilmot abandons plans to make an offer for Centaur

October 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

centaurOn 24th September Geoffrey Wilmot, the former chief executive of Centaur Media plc, said that he was in talks with financial backers about making a bid for the Centaur business. He had until 5.00pm on Tuesday 22nd October to clarify his intentions, by either announcing a firm intention to make an offer or that he does not intend to make an offer.

Since then, Wilmot has engaged with an extended number of finance providers and these discussions have progressed significantly.

However, a stock market statement issued today said, “It has become apparent that the Board of Centaur’s views on the value of the Company materially diverge from those of Mr Wilmot and his potential financing partners. Accordingly Mr. Wilmot confirms that he currently does not intend to make an offer for Centaur.”

Geoff Wilmot left Centaur in May this year.

UK London

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Euromoney Institutional Investor acquires Infrastructure Journal for £12.5M

October 15, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney PLCEuromoney Institutional Investor plc, the international online information and events group, is expanding its project finance and infrastructure business with the acquisition of Infrastructure Journal.

Infrastructure Journal is an information source for the international infrastructure markets.  Its business model is centred on premium subscription content that tracks market activity and is delivered in real-time through its online platform which is accessible from desktops, tablets and smartphones.  Infrastructure Journal also runs a portfolio of events which includes conferences, forums and awards attended by senior investment professionals, industry practitioners and advisors.  The Infrastructure Journal Awards are held annually in London.

ij-logoEuromoney is acquiring 100% of the assets of Infrastructure Journal from Top Right Group (“TRG”) for a cash consideration of £12.5 million, funded from its existing committed borrowing facility.  The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing for Euromoney in its financial year 2014.  Infrastructure Journal had revenues of £3.1 million for the year to December 2012.  The transaction will complete after the required TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) consultation period, expected to conclude by November 1, 2013.

“Infrastructure Journal is a business we have long admired and we are delighted that it is now part of our stable of global brands,” said Richard Ensor, chairman of Euromoney.  “With an estimated 57 trillion dollars of investment into infrastructure projects required around the world by 2030, we believe this part of the business-to-business information sector offers attractive growth fundamentals.  Euromoney aims to create a comprehensive market-leading infrastructure information provider by combining, under the Infrastructure Journal brand, the deals database and news coverage of Infrastructure Journal and the deals analysis, awards and conferences of Project Finance.”

Duncan Painter, CEO of Top Right Group, said: “Infrastructure Journal is well respected in its sector and delivers valuable insight and expertise to its customers.  The skill of the team, investment in content and the launch of new topical forums each year have kept the brand ahead and we are delighted that the Infrastructure Journal name will continue in the marketplace. We believe Euromoney Institutional Investor will be a good long term home for the brand and we wish the business every success in the future.”

UK, London

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ITE Group acquires Platform Exhibitions in Turkey

October 15, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

ITEE Uluslararası Fuar Tanıtım Hizmetleri A.Ş(EUF) in Turkey, a wholly owned subsidiary of exhibitions business ITE Group plc,  has acquired Platform Exhibitions Inc from Mahmut and Ayse Er.

Platform owns the Beauty Eurasia exhibition which serves the beauty, personal care and cosmetics industries in Turkey and the surrounding region. Beauty Eurasia is held in Istanbul in June each year. The 2013 exhibition was the 9th edition of the event which sold more than 8,000m2 net and was attended by over 21,000 professional visitors.

beautyEurasiaITE has an established portfolio of existing Beauty events in Ukraine and Russia and earlier this year acquired an interest in the CosmoBeaute series of events in South East Asia.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The consideration will be financed out of the Group’s existing balance sheet and the acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in the first full year of ownership.

Commenting on the acquisition, ITE’s Chief Executive Officer, Russell Taylor, said, “Beauty Eurasia is the leading beauty and personal care exhibition in Turkey. The addition of this exhibition to ITE’s Turkish business is consistent with our strategy of building market leading positions in core markets and sectors. The beauty and personal care industry is a growth sector in developing markets and with this acquisition, ITE will leverage its international exhibition expertise to develop further its position and benefit from a wider portfolio within this sector.”

Turkey, Istanbul & UK, London

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Fresh round of dealmaking in the face-to-face events sector

October 7, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

The FT are reporting that, in the wake of UBM’s chief executive David Levin and Informa’s chief Peter Rigby resigning earlier this year, analysts and industry executives are speculating that a fresh round of dealmaking could happen in the face-to-face events sector.

Read the article here

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Informa completes the disposal of its five Corporate Training businesses.

October 1, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

informa2Informa plc has completed  the disposal of its five Corporate Training businesses to Providence Equity Partners.

The initial consideration of $165m, consists of $100m in cash (net of indebtedness and working capital adjustments on completion) and a $65m vendor loan. The vendor loan is for a maximum term of 6.5 years and attracts a PIK interest rate of 1% in the first two years, rising to 10% in the third year with a further 1% per annum increase thereafter.

providenceequityMore more information see Fusion DigiNet’s July 2013 article here.

UK, London

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ACTIVE Network to be acquired by Vista Equity Partners.

October 1, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

activenetworkEvent management software maker ACTIVE Network is being acquired by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners.

Vista will commence a tender offer to acquire all of Active Network’s common stock for $14.50 a share. That represents a 27.2% premium to Active Network’s Friday closing, the most recent trading day. Active’s board endorsed the offer, recommending that all stockholders tender their shares. This values the deal at $904 million. Any shares not tendered will be acquired in a second-step merger at the same cash price as the original offer.

vistaep“ACTIVE Network’s leadership position in cloud-based Activity and Participant Management™ (APM) solutions make it a highly attractive investment for us,” said Robert F. Smith, CEO and founder of Vista Equity Partners.  “We are looking forward to working with the ACTIVE team and continuing to drive the next phase of ACTIVE’s growth.”

  • Citi is serving as financial advisor to ACTIVE. 
  • BofA Merrill Lynch is serving as financial advisor to Vista.  
  • DLA Piper LLP (US) is acting as ACTIVE’s legal advisor. 
  • Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as Vista’s legal advisor. 
  • BofA Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, and BMO Capital Markets Corp. have agreed to provide debt financing in connection with the transaction.

ACTIVE Network plans to release its third quarter earnings after market close on Wednesday, October 30, 2013.

USA, San Francisco, CA & San Diego, CA 

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ITE Pre-close trading update for the year ending 30 September 2013

October 1, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

ITEITE Group plc, the international exhibitions group specialising in emerging and developing markets, has issued the following update for the year ending 30 September 2013, prior to entering its close period and ahead of its preliminary results announcement on 3 December 2013.

Revenues for the fourth quarter reflect positive trading conditions in most of our overseas markets. Revenue for the full year is expected to be circa £191m (2012: £172m) in line with market expectations.

Fourth Quarter Trading

The Group ran 28 events in the fourth quarter producing revenue of circa £26m (2012: £27m). On a like-for-like basis revenues are 4% higher than last year.

The principal trading highlights in the fourth quarter were:

  • MODA, the Group’s market leading UK fashion event based at the NEC in Birmingham was 17,100sqm, which was a 9% reduction on the same event last year and reflected the ongoing difficult trading conditions in the European fashion market.
  • World Food Moscow, the Group’s leading food exhibition recorded its largest ever event with a 2% increase in space sales to 24,900sqm.

Business Development

On 26 August 2013, the Group entered into an agreement with RAMO JSC to become the anchor tenant at a new 28,000 sqm venue in Krasnodar (south-west Russia), which is due to be completed by January 2016. The Group’s business in Krasnodar is currently restricted by the size of the venue, and it is anticipated that this new facility will allow ITE’s largest events to grow and the business to expand into new industry sectors.

Financial position

The Group continues to generate strong cash flow and had net cash of circa £23.0m as at 25 September 2013 (2012: £12.0m).

Outlook

Bookings for the financial year ending 30 September 2014 are progressing in line with management expectations and reflect continued good trading conditions in most of our markets. As at 26 September 2013, the Group had booked £75m of revenue for the 2014 financial year, representing circa 39% of current market expectations for the year.

The Group continues to generate good organic growth from its portfolio of events, and retains a strong balance sheet which supports its plans to invest in and further develop its business.

UK, London

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