DMGT – trading update for the six-month period to the end of March 2012

April 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

DMGT has issued an update on the Group’s progress in the current year. It covers the six-month period to the end of March 2012.

Summary

–       Solid Group revenue performance, up 2% underlying

–       Good underlying growth from B2B operations

–       Resilient revenue performance at Associated; circulation and digital revenue growth largely offsetting print advertising weakness

–       Active portfolio management; targeted acquisitions and disposal of non-core assets

–       Outlook for the year remains unchanged.

 

Acquisition activity

Active portfolio management has seen further bolt-on acquisitions, including:

–       Intelliworks – a top provider of relationship management solutions for higher education (dmgi – Hobsons)

–       PrepMe – a leader in adaptive learning technologies and test preparation programs (dmgi – Hobsons)

–       SpringRock – a cutting-edge provider of dynamic production forecasts for the oil & gas industry (dmgi – Genscape)

–       Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia – international grain trading conferences (Euromoney) (A Fusion deal – click here for details)

–       Jobrapido – one of the world’s largest job search engines (Associated -Evenbase)

This continuing portfolio management activity has also seen A&N Media selling its interests in Top Consultant, motors.co.uk and Teletext.

Yesterday, the Office of Fair Trading gave clearance for the proposed merger between the Digital Property Group and Zoopla to go ahead.

Read the full announcement here

UK, London

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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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ITE acquires two Ukrainian exhibitions

April 16, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

ITE International Holdings BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of exhibitions business ITE Group plc, has acquired Kiev based Limited Liability Company BeautexCo from BCI R&R Limited, a company registered in Cyprus.

Beautex runs two exhibitions each year, Intercharm and Beautyexpo. Both are trade exhibitions for the professional beauty trade and cosmetic and aesthetic medicine industry in Ukraine.

On acquisition, Beautex had gross assets of nil. The exhibitions are forecast to generate revenues of €2.4m in the year ending 30 September 2012 and are expected to be earnings enhancing in ITE’s 2012 financial year.

Commenting on the acquisition, ITE’s Chief Executive Officer, Russell Taylor, said: “The addition of these two exhibitions to ITE’s Ukrainian business is consistent with our strategy of building market leading positions in core markets and sectors and will complement ITE’s existing activities in Kiev. These events have strong market positions in Ukraine and will benefit from access to ITE’s expertise and international reach.”

UK, London and Ukraine, Kiev

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UBM plc acquires Negocios nos Trilhos, South America’s leading railway industry exhibition

April 16, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM plc has acquired Negocios nos Trilhos, South America’s leading railway industry exhibition, from Grupo Revista Ferroviária on behalf of UBM Live. In 2011 Negocios nos Trilhos generated revenues of approximately £1.6 million.  As at 29 March 2012, the business’ gross assets were £0.7 million.  The acquisition is expected to exceed UBM’s cost of capital criterion in its first full year of ownership.

Now in its fifteenth edition, Negocios nos Trilhos – literally, ‘Business on Rails” – is a cargo and public rail transport tradeshow which is held annually in Sao Paulo.  Last year’s show attracted 180 rail equipment and technology exhibitors from 14 countries and 7,000 railway professionals drawn from both the public and the private sectors. The 2012 event will take place 6-8 November.
The passenger and cargo railway industry in Brazil and other South American countries is expanding rapidly as the region’s economic development advances.  Brazil has also seen accelerated investment in mass transport systems driven by the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.

Negocios nos Trilhos is a complementary fit with UBM Live’s Intermodal transport exhibition in Brazil. The business also overlaps with UBM Global Trade’s US rail industry products.

Simon Foster, Chief Executive Officer of UBM Live said, “We are delighted to have acquired such a well-established and market-leading exhibition in this fast-growing industry. Negocios nos Trilhos will strengthen our position in the transport sector in Brazil and complement UBM’s US-based rail industry product set.”

Uk, London and Brazil, Sao Paulo

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Access Intelligence acquires LeadsCon trade show along with Daily Deal Summit

March 28, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Access Intelligence, a B2B media and information company and a portfolio company of Veronis Suhler Stevenson, has acquired LeadsCon. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

LeadsCon is an educational and networking conference dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of those operating in the online lead generation industry. LeadsCon is held twice a year. It has just completed its February event in Las Vegas, and will hold its East coast event in New York this July. Other products in the LeadsCon portfolio include the membership-based LeadsCouncil, the Daily Deal Summit conference series taking place this April 17-18 in New York, an e-newsletter, and other soon-to-be announced marketing conferences and product offerings.

Jay Weintraub, president and founder of New York-based LeadsCon, will continue in his role as President of LeadsCon, Daily Deal and the other products serving the customer-acquisition sector. Michelle Troop, LeadsCon co-founder and executive vice president of operations, and Weintraub will be part of the newly created Access Intelligence Customer Acquisition Board which will also include Don Pazour, AI’s President & CEO; Diane Schwartz, senior vice president of the Media/Communications Group; and Jenn Heinold, vice president of healthcare and aerospace events.

“I am particularly pleased to be working with a visionary like Jay Weintraub, who will lead our efforts in serving the customer acquisition professional community,” said Don Pazour, president and CEO of Access Intelligence. “The ability to round out our position in the marketing and technology sectors with highly engaged brands like LeadsCon and Daily Deal Summit is an exciting prospect for Access Intelligence, our employees and customers.”

In 2011, Access Intelligence completed acquisitions in the media/marketing and healthcare sectors, including that of Red7 Media (which includes Event Marketer and Folio); OR Manager, which presents one of the largest trade shows serving operating room executives; and Cynopsis Media, with advertising-driven e-letters serving the TV and digital communities.

USA, Rockville, MD

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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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BlogWorld & New Media Expo acquire Travel Blogger Event TBEX

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

BlogWorld & New Media Expo has acquired TBEX, (Travel Blog Exchange), the world’s largest travel blogging conference. TBEX ’12 presented by BlogWorld will take place at the Keystone Resort & Convention Center in Keystone, Colorado, June 15-17. TBEX is an interactive event where travel bloggers can meet each other, learn more about the art of travel writing, blogging as a business, cross connect on other platforms, and locate new audiences and vendors for their blogs. BlogWorld will take over production and operations immediately. Kim Mance, founder of TBEX and editor of GoGalavanting.com, will maintain her role as an advisor and TBEX evangelist.

Rick Calvert, CEO and co-founder of BlogWorld & New Media Expo said, “BlogWorld’s mission has always been to help all bloggers, podcasters and WebTV producers succeed and grow their businesses. We approached Kim about making TBEX a part of the BlogWorld family because it’s the largest and best travel blogging event in the world. We think it is a perfect fit and we think we can help TBEX continue on its amazing growth path here in the United States and around the world.”

USA, San Diego, CA

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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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IHS closes three acquisitions:

March 5, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

IHS Inc. has closed three acquisitions:

  • Displaybank, a market research and consulting provider for the display industry,
  • the Computer Assisted Product Selection (CAPS) electronic components database and tools business from PartMiner Worldwide,
  • and the digital oil and gas pipeline and infrastructure information business from Hild Technology Services.

The combined purchase price of the acquisitions is approximately $45 million.

Displaybank delivers a portfolio of products and services focused on subscription-based market and planning advisory services, consulting-based business advisory services, conferences and events serving the global flat-panel display industry. Founded in 1999, Displaybank is headquartered in Seoul, Korea, with offices in the U.S., Japan, China and Taiwan.

“The acquisition of Displaybank will help to solidify our position as a world-leading provider of technology, media and telecommunications information and analysis,” said IHS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerre Stead. “With its base of operations in Korea, Displaybank will also deepen our Asia Pacific research and analysis capabilities – an area that’s critical to our company’s growth.”

The CAPS database is a source for identifying specific electronic components based on engineering specifications. It combines information on more than 265 million physical devices, along with intuitive tools for integration into engineering design processes and applications. It includes comprehensive and current information for electronic and electro-mechanical components to support engineering selection and procurement decisions for military and commercial applications.

IHS President and Chief Operating Officer Scott Key said: “The acquisition of the CAPS family of products will significantly enhance our existing electronic parts information business to provide greater breadth and depth of content to our global customers. The CAPS content coverage, selection and list management tools, sourcing relationships and integration framework, along with the subscription nature of the CAPS business, makes it an excellent strategic fit for IHS as well.

Hild Technology’s digital oil and gas pipeline and infrastructure information business meets a need for energy producers and refiners in North America, offering pipeline infrastructure information for upstream strategic planners, gas marketers and refiners. The information is updated daily and available on a national, state and county level, and is delivered via shapefiles, geodatabase and secure data exchange, along with 11 years of historical data.

According to Key, the acquisition of Hild’s oil and gas pipeline and infrastructure information business “will help IHS meet a critical need for energy producers and refiners in North America by integrating it into the existing IHS Midstream Essentials product and creating an even more robust offering that adds tremendous value for our customers.”

USA, Englewood, CO & Korea, Seoul

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IHS makes five acquisitions – CMAI, ODS-Petrodata, Dyadem International, EIATrack & CSM South America Posted on June 14, 2011

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A Fusion Deal: International grain trading conferences, Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia, sold to Euromoney Institutional Investor

February 29, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our third deal of 2012. The sale of international grain trading conferences, Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia  to Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.

Global Grain Geneva is the world’s leading event for international grain traders. It has been held every November since 2003 in Geneva, the main European location for the trading of grain, oilseeds and soft commodities. The event has grown every year since its launch and in 2011 attracted nearly 1,000 delegates from over 50 countries. Euromoney is acquiring all the issued share capital of Global Commodities Group Sàrl whose sole asset is Global Grain Geneva.

Global Grain Asia is a new event for grain and oilseed trade and industry professionals operating in Asia-Pacific. It launches in March in Singapore. Euromoney is acquiring 50% of the issued share capital of GGA Pte. Ltd whose sole asset is Global Grain Asia. Euromoney has an option to acquire the remaining 50% of GGA Pte. Ltd in 2014.

The prospects for grain trading are good. Agricultural prices move over long cycles and prices today are under-pinned by a rising global population, greater affluence especially in Asia where meat consumption is growing rapidly (for instance, every pound of beef requires seven pounds of grain to produce), and less farmland: by the year 2020, the farmland available per person is forecast by the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to be less than half that of 1950.

Global Grain Geneva has been organized by James Dunsterville, a commodity trader in Geneva who also publishes the respected grain price newsletter AgriNews (www.agrinews.ch) and by Andrew Osborne, an event and conference specialist. Global Grain Asia was recently set up by G Seelan, Managing Director, and Ms Sarasija Raman, Executive Director, of the Centre for Management Technology (CMT) in Singapore, and Messrs. Dunsterville and Osborne. All four of them expect to remain involved in the business until at least 2014.

“We are delighted to acquire Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia,” said Padraic Fallon, Chairman of Euromoney. “Euromoney has a successful record of acquiring conferences and developing them into fast-growing global event businesses. Coaltrans Conferences and Metal Bulletin Events are two striking examples and we look forward to doing the same with the Global Grain conferences.”

James Dunsterville and Andrew Osborne of Global Commodities Group said: “Having successfully built Global Grain Geneva into a must-attend conference for the grain trade market, and more recently launched Global Grain Asia with CMT, we believe that Euromoney is ideally positioned to develop further the conferences worldwide. We are confident that their successful track record in acquiring and developing commodity conferences will add tremendous value to the international grain trade community. We look forward to using our know-how and experience to help them achieve this vision.”

Paul Slight, Director at Fusion, said, “We were delighted to work with James, Andrew, Seelan and Sarasija. These are two great trading events and will be an excellent fit with Euromoney’s commodities events businesses. It is the third Fusion transaction in the commodities area and we expect to continue to be active in the sector for some time to come.”

UK, London & Switzerland, Geneva & Singapore

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3. Events, Broadcast and Other deals
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