Informa plc – 2013 Full Year Results

February 24, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet
Informa plc has announced full year results for the year ended 31 December 2013.

HIGHLIGHTS

Financial

  • Group organic revenue growth (continuing) of 1.5% to £1,132.4m (2012: £1,110.6m)
  • Adjusted operating profit (continuing) up 1.5% to £335.5m (2012: £330.5m)
  • Adjusted diluted EPS growth (continuing) of 5.0% to 40.1p (2012: 38.2p)
  • Statutory loss of £6.4m (2012: £90.7m profit), reflecting loss from discontinued operations of £109.5m
  • Strong cash flow – cash conversion (continuing) increased to 99% (2012: 94%)
  • Net debt/EBITDA ratio of 2.2 times (2012: 2.1 times)
  • Deferred income growth of 8% at constant currency
  • Final dividend maintained at 12.50p; total dividend up 2.2% to 18.90p (2012: 18.50p)

Operational

Stephen-Carter-HeadStephen Carter, Group Chief Executive, said: “I was delighted to take over as Group Chief Executive of Informa at the start of this year. As the reported figures highlight, the Group delivered a solid earnings and cash performance last year. This has led the Board to pay a total dividend for the year of 18.90p.

Succeeding such a long-standing Chief Executive is a privilege and comes with attendant responsibilities. The privilege lies in being given the opportunity to work with the people and the businesses that make Informa so unique, all of which operate in the Knowledge and Information Economy. The responsibilities are to transition the business, the culture and the operating model post such long-term leadership.”

He added, “For Informa, 2014 will be a year of measured change, operational focus and building a platform for the future growth of the Group.”

Divisional Highlights – continuing operations

2013 2012 Actual Organic
£m £m % %
Academic Publishing*
Revenue 367.1 340.3 7.9 5.3
Adjusted Operating Profit 130.9 126.1 3.8 3.1
Adjusted Operating Margin (%) 35.7 37.1
Business Intelligence*
Revenue 350.6 356.6 (1.7) (3.9)
Adjusted Operating Profit 109.1 120.7 (9.6) (12.8)
Adjusted Operating Margin (%) 31.1 33.8
Global Events*
Revenue 414.7 413.7 0.2 3.0
Adjusted Operating Profit 95.5 83.7 14.1 12.6
Adjusted Operating Margin (%) 23.0 20.2

* Following the disposal of the Corporate Training businesses, the three divisions have been renamed: Academic Information has been renamed Academic Publishing; Professional and Commercial Information has been renamed Business Intelligence; Events and Training has been renamed Global Events. Please note that in 2012 the results for Global Events include a contribution from Robbins Gioia which was sold in May 2012.

UK, London

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Progressive Digital Media Group – preliminary results for 2013

February 24, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

progressiveProgressive Digital Media Group Plc has issued its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2013

Highlights

  • Group revenue increased by 6.3% to £57.3m (2012: £53.9m)
  • Business Intelligence revenue increased by 12.1% to £33.8m (2012: £30.1m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA(1) increased by 26.0% to £11.5m (2012: £9.1m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin(1) increased to 20.0% (2012: 16.9%)
  • Reported EBITDA(2) increased by 31.1% to £9.7m (2012: £7.4m)
  • Reported profit before tax of £7.1m (2012: £4.3m) inclusive of £0.6m restructuring costs and £1.1m share based
  • payments charge
  • Deferred Revenue increased by 17.9% to £14.3m (2012: £12.1m)
  • Net cash(3) of £8.3m (2012: £6.2m)
  • Acquisition Pyramid Research from UBM 

Simon Pyper, Chief Executive of Progressive Digital Media Group Plc, commented:

“We continue to make good progress towards achieving our strategic objective of building a scalable, premium business information company. This past year we have recorded strong revenue growth, increased revenues from our Business Intelligence products and continued to invest in our content and delivery platforms. We have also completed the integration of Kable and agreed to acquire Pyramid Research; two acquisitions which complement our business model in the Technology market. I believe we have set ourselves the right objectives, are following the correct strategy and have in place the foundations for further growth.”

UK, London

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Incisive Media in talks about a debt-for-equity swap

February 24, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

incisive_logo_newSky News is reporting that Incisive Media has begun talks about a debt-for-equity swap that would enable the business to shed its £100m-plus debt mountain and refocus on growing the business.

Alchemy Partners has been acquiring Incisive Media’s debts from other holders and is expected to continue to do so. Alchemy now owns roughly a quarter of Incisive’s borrowings and would end up as a major shareholder if the restructuring proceeds.

Incisive is a business-to-business information provider, serving a wide range of financial, business technology and professional services markets globally. The business has two offices in London, others in New York and Hong Kong and a representative office in Beijing. Private equity firm Apax paid £208m for the business in 2006, and then bought American Lawyer Media (AML) in 2007 for $600m. Since then the two businesses have separated with Apax retaining AML and surrendering control of Incisive Media.

Lenders to the company, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, would need to give their consent before a debt-for-equity swap could take place.

Read the full story here.

UK, London

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Centaur Media plc publishes its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2013

February 20, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

centaurCentaur Media plc, the business information, events and media group, has published its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2013. 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Reported revenue in the six months to 31 December 2013 up 8% to £32.7m (2012: £30.4m) 2
    • Deferred revenues up 16% to £17.5m (31 December 2012: £15.1m)
    • Digital and events revenues account for 71% of revenue (2012: 67%)
    • Paid-for content revenues up 9% to £10.6m (2012: £9.7m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA up 7% to £3.1m (2012: £2.9m)
    • Adjusted EBITDA margins stable during a period of significant change
  • Interim dividend increased by 3% to 0.85p (2012: 0.825p)
  • Successful event launches including The Meetings Show and Festival of Marketing
  • Successful digital product development includes Celebrity Intelligence and Filings Expert
  • Good progress on harnessing combined strengths across the Group to drive revenue generation
  • Andria Vidler appointed as Chief Executive – accelerated focus on audiences and markets

 

  Six months to

31 December 2013

Unaudited

 Six months to

31 December 2012

Unaudited

 Reported Growth Year to 31 December 2013

Unaudited

 Year to 31 December 2012

Unaudited

 Reported Growth
Revenue (£m) 32.7 30.4 8% 74.4 69.4 7%
Adjusted EBITDA (£m) 1 3.1 2.9 7% 13.1 12.9 2%
Adjusted EBITDA margin 1 9% 10%   18% 19%  
Adjusted profit before tax (£m)1 0.9 0.7   8.8 8.8  
Loss before tax (£m) (2.9) (5.0)   (35.3) (0.8)  
Basic LPS (pence) (1.7) (3.1)   (25.7) (1.3)  
Adjusted basic EPS (pence) 1 0.5 0.3 66% 4.7 4.5 4%
Dividend per share (pence) 0.85 0.825 3% 2.425 2.325 4%

Andria Vidler CEO of Centaur, said, “We have a number of strong brands, deep content, a talented team and considerable technical expertise.  We aim to be the first place customers turn for information and insight and to interact with their peers. To deliver this we are refocusing – using our own resources – and placing our audiences at the heart of everything we do.  This will enable us to prioritise market facing and commercial initiatives, and to harness our combined strengths across the business to drive revenue generation and value creation.”

He added, “It is early days but I am increasingly optimistic about the Group’s potential and the energy and enthusiasm of the team across the business to embrace these changes.  We have made good progress in a very short time. At this stage of the 2014 financial year, I am encouraged by the potential across the business and anticipate that trading will be in line with the Board’s expectations.”

See the full announcement here

UK, London

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APN News & Media – 2013 Full year results

February 19, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

APN News & Media Ltd (APN), in which Independent News & Media PLC has a 28.95% shareholding, has released its results for the twelve months ending 31 December 2013. Net profit after tax before exceptional items was $59.5m, up 10% on the prior corresponding period. EBITDA from continuing operations and before exceptional items was up 8% to $162.8m, with revenue from continuing operations down $5.8m to $817.2m.

APN Chief Executive Officer, Michael Miller said: “These are APN’s best results in a number of years with Net profit after tax and EBITDA growth at their highest level since 2007 and 2005 respectively. The results reflect strong earnings growth in our radio businesses as they increased market share, a record result at Adshel, an improved second half performance from our publishing businesses as cost saving benefits start to flow through and the impact of the sale of a number of non-core businesses.”

APN’s ongoing focus on cost reductions and generating cash, as well as the contribution from a number of small asset sales, resulted in $63m in net cash inflows during the period. This cash inflow was considerably ahead of the $40m to $50m target set at the beginning of the year. Overall net debt as at 31 December 2013 was $436.9m.

APN FINANCIAL RESULT 2013

12 months to 31 December (AUD million) 2013 2012**
Revenue from continuing operations 817.2 823.0
EBITDA* 162.8 151.4
EBIT* 129.8 120.7
Net profit after tax* 59.3 49.6
Profit/loss from discontinued operations 0.3 4.7
Net profit after tax before exceptional items 59.5 54.3
Exceptional items (56.9) (561.7)
Statutory net profit/(loss) after tax 2.6 (507.4)
*From continuing operations and before exceptional items    
**2012 exceptional items and statutory net loss restated for error in relation to impairment charge

The company is not paying a final dividend for the 2013 financial year.

APN has made progress in its efforts to streamline operations and position the Company for future growth. The sale of APN Outdoor to Quadrant Private Equity for $69m and the sale of e-commerce business brandsExclusive for $2m in cash and 8% of the equity in buyer Aussie Commerce Group were completed in January and February of this year. The sale of APN’s wholly-owned New Zealand magazine titles to Bauer Media Group has received clearance from the New Zealand Commerce Commission and is expected to complete in March. During the first half of 2013, the Company sold its Wellington, Christchurch and Oamaru newspapers in line with its focus on North Island publications. APN also moved to full ownership of performance marketing business iNC Digital Media in October.

APN also announced the acquisition of the remaining 50% of Australian Radio Network and The Radio Network from its US joint venture partner Clear Channel Communications Inc. This  gives APN greater control of cash flows, which will be used to strengthen the Company’s balance sheet.

The full announcement is available here.

Ireland Dublin & UK, London

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WPP’s Xaxis to acquire media trading firm Bannerconnect

February 5, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

xaxisWPP‘s wholly-owned operating company Xaxis, the global programmatic media and technology platform, is to acquire Bannerconnect, a leading media trading firm based in the Netherlands. Bannerconnect specialises in providing infrastructure and services for digital media trading to publishers, advertisers and media agencies.

Bannerconnect’s technology offerings, including its real-time optimisation platform Bright™, are complementary to the current global capabilities of Xaxis. Bright™ provides advertisers with real-time optimisation technology and visualisation tools for their digital campaigns.

Founded in 2004 in Sittar, the Netherlands, and with offices also in Amsterdam and London, Bannerconnect employs Bannerconnect10-finalover 40 people. Bannerconnect’s revenues for the year ended 31 December 2013 were EUR 4.3 million with gross assets as at the same date of EUR 8.3 million.

UK, London & The Netherlands, Sittar

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Brightcove acquires Unicorn Media

February 3, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

brightcoveBrightcove, a provider of cloud services for video, has completed its acquisition of Unicorn Media, a leading provider of cloud video ad insertion technology, for approximately $49 million. The purchase price consists of 2,850,547 shares of Brightcove stock and approximately $9.1 million of cash.

David Mendels, Chief Executive Officer of Brightcove, commented, “We are excited to welcome the Unicorn Media team unicornto Brightcove. We believe its innovative cloud-based ad insertion technology and our industry-leading Video Cloud platform will enable a dramatic improvement in the targeting, personalization and monetization of the rapidly increasing amount of online video content being delivered by digital media companies.”

Brightcove will rebrand the Unicorn Media product line as Brightcove Once and will continue to develop, operate and support the service while also integrating the technology with other Brightcove services.

USA, Boston, MA

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Investment consortium acquires Boat International Media

January 31, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

An investment consortium led by Pembroke VCT plc, with support from Lepe Capital, has acquired Boat International Media. Reports say, Pembroke have paid £10 million.

boat international

Pembroke is a venture capital trust, which specialises in investing in high growth consumer-facing businesses. Lepe Capital is a growth capital investor that specialises in digital media. The consortium also includes several other private investors including Charles Dunstone and Tara Getty.

Boat International Media provides information and services across traditional print, digital media and organises eight annual events in Amsterdam, Kitzbühel, Monaco, Fort Lauderdale, Porto Cervo, and Virgin Gorda. It also owns a database of superyachts, as well as a social and business networking tool for superyacht captains and crew.

Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke, commented: “Boat International Media is the leading player in the superyacht industry with an unrivalled reputation amongst yacht owners, brokers and service companies alike. The company has achieved impressive growth in sales despite the economic downturn and profitability and momentum continues. We look forward to working with the experienced management team and supporting their strategic plan to further develop Boat International’s print media platforms as well as accelerate the transition to digital.”

Tony Harris, CEO of Boat International Media, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with this group of investors. The team’s entrepreneurial operational focus and market knowledge will enable us to further cement Boat International’s position as the world’s leading media group serving the superyacht community.”

UK, Wimbledon, Surrey

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Lagardère receives three bids for magazines

January 23, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

lagardereAccording to French newspaper Le Figaro, French media group Lagardère has received three preliminary offers for the magazines it has put up for sale and expects firm offers by Feb. 15. These were from Be magazine founder Didier Quillot, Marc Laufer of NewsCo and Pascale Chevalier of ReWorld Media.

In total, 25 offers have been received, but only five of these were for all of the publications.

In October last year Lagardère said it planned to sell 10 magazine titles, including Premiere, Psychologies and Be. The 1o magazine have a combined annual turnover of about €50 million and make a loss of between €1.5 and €2 million.

Le Figaro said another reason the price tag was likely to be small was because Lagardère would finance departures as part of a law in France that allows journalists to resign with compensation when the ownership of their publication changes. This could cost between €5 and €7 million.

Le Figaro report – Lagardère: trois offres crédibles pour le rachat de ses magazines.

France, Paris

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AOL acquires Gravity for $83M

January 23, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

aol AOL is to acquire Gravity, a  company that provides multi-screen content optimisation and personalisation, for approximately $83 million. An additional $7.7 million of consideration will be deferred and paid over two years following closing. As part of the transaction, AOL will acquire approximately $12 million of net operating losses, which is expected to result in a future cash tax benefit to AOL of approximately $5 million. AOL expects the acquisition to close in the first quarter of 2014.

Gravity personalises the Internet beyond search and social by applying a personal and real-time filter to the ever-growing volume of digital information available for consumption. Gravity’s  technology creates Interest Graphs based on individuals’ interests, preferences and habits and allows publishers to offer a tailored and relevant selection of editorial and advertising content to readers.

“The web is moving to the era of personal, and a personal web filter will reshape how consumers get information and services,” said gravityAOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong. “Gravity is joining AOL to lead the personalization transformation of AOL’s brands and platform partners.”

The Gravity product and team will report to AOL Brand Group Head of Product, Luke Beatty.

USA, New York, NY

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