WPP to acquire XMKT Group, a marketing services agency in China

March 25, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP has agreed to acquire XMKT Group, a marketing services agency specialising in customer experience management.

Founded in 2010, XMKT Group has four main divisions: Events – providing strategy, concept and design as well as on-site execution and coordination of events for clients; Retail – specializing in marketing and promotional activities in entertainment facilities or retail shopping malls; Entertainment – offering consultancy on procurement and incorporation of entertainment properties; and Digital – providing digital marketing strategy.

XMKT Group is headquartered in Shanghai with offices in Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, as well as onsite management capabilities across 67 Chinese cities. The Group employs approximately 253 people. Key clients include Diageo and Uniqlo.

For the year ending 31 December 2013, XMKT had unaudited revenues of RMB 126 million, with gross assets of RMB 138 million as at the same date.

UK, London & China, Shanghai

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dmg media sells specialist recruitment job board OilCareers

March 19, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

evenbaseEvenbase, dmg media’s digital recruitment business, has disposed of the specialist recruitment job board, OilCareers, to Dice Holdings, Inc. for US$26 million.

Kevin Beatty, CEO of dmg media, said: “OilCareers has grown successfully since Evenbase acquired the business in 2008, achieving US$8 million of revenue in the year to September 2013. OilCareers and Dice Holdings’ Rigzone, a market leader in delivering online content, data, advertising and career services in the oil and gas industry, are complementary businesses and the strategic fit will better position OilCareers for further growth.”

USA, New York, NY & UK, Hampshire

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Dice Holdings

DMGT

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Tarsus completes the acquisition of SIUF in China

March 18, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

TarsusTarsus, the international business-to-business media group, has completed the acquisition of 50 per cent of the China (Shenzhen) International Brand Underwear Fair (“SIUF”).

See previous reporting on 8 January 2014.

UK, London & China, Shenzhen

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UBM reports a 10 percent rise in full-year profit

February 28, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM Plc has announced results for the year ending 31st December 2013

For full details and financial notes, click here.

  • Revenues from continuing operations up 3.2% to £793.9m; organic revenue growth of 3.7%
  • Adjusted operating profit from continuing operations up 6.3% to £186.3m; margin of 23.5%
  • Continuing fully diluted adjusted EPS up 12.8% to 53.6p
  • Total China revenues up 21% to £174.8m from £144.5m with strong annual and biennial event performance
  • Events organic revenue growth of 6.3%; operating profit, up to £148.9m, margin of 32.2%
  • PR Newswire 1.9% underlying growth and 22.6% margin
  • £22.7m exceptional charges reflect Marketing Services restructuring and the implementation of new UBM-wide finance and reporting system
  • Final dividend of 20.5p proposed; total 2013 dividend of 27.2p (2012:26.7p), up 1.9%
  • Leverage improved to 2.2x Net Debt/ EBITDA (2012: 2.5x)

UBM Results Dec 13 v2Click on the table for an enlarged view

David Levin, UBM’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“2013 was a year of strategic progress and operational achievement for UBM against a difficult economic backdrop; the company can look forward to 2014 with confidence.

2013’s good revenue and profit growth was bolstered by a strong performance from our biennial events in the second half of the year. PR Newswire had a solid year in its core business and maintained its strong profitability. We disposed of our Data Services business and substantially restructured our Marketing Services activities to focus on the professional communities our events serve. We end the year with significantly higher quality earnings and with the business better positioned for structural growth.

Our strategy to develop UBM as an events-led marketing services and communications business is proving successful. The growing strength of our Events business — focused particularly on large events, and our strong presence in China and other growth markets — continues to affirm our strategic choices and to demonstrate live media is an increasingly significant component of business to business marketing programmes. PR Newswire has retained its leading, premium position in the online news and content distribution market, and is well placed to prosper in the emerging world of digital content marketing.”

UK, London

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Reed Elsevier PLC – Results for the year to December 2013

February 28, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

Reed ElsevierReed Elsevier has announced its results for the year ending December 2013.

 

Reed Elsevier results 2013Click on the above table for a full screen view

Highlights

Revenue of £6,035m/€7,121m; underlying growth +2% (+3% excluding biennial exhibition cycling): The overall underlying growth rate of +3% reflects +5 to +7% growth in electronic and face-to-face revenues, which now account for 81% of the total (2012: 79%), partially offset by continuing print revenue declines.

Adjusted operating profit £1,749m/€2,064m; underlying growth +5%: Underlying operating profit growth across Reed Elsevier reflects a combination of process innovation and portfolio development. Reported operating profit, after amortisation of acquired intangible assets, was up +3% to £1,376m/down -1% to €1,624m.

Return on invested capital 12.1%, up by 0.4%pts on 2012: The ROIC increase was driven by the increase in adjusted operating profit.

Interest and tax: Adjusted net interest expense was £39m lower at £177m (€56m lower at €209m) reflecting the benefits of term debt refinancing initiatives over the last 18 months. The adjusted effective tax rate was unchanged at 23.5%.

Adjusted EPS up +9% to 54.0p for Reed Elsevier PLC; up +5% to €0.99 for Reed Elsevier NV; constant currency growth +7%: Reported EPS growth was +9% to 48.8p for Reed Elsevier PLC, +5% to €0.91 for Reed Elsevier NV.

Equalised full year dividend up +7% to 24.60p for Reed Elsevier PLC; up +8% to €0.506 for Reed Elsevier NV: The proposed average full year dividend growth rate is in line with adjusted EPS growth at constant currency rates. The proposed final dividend for Reed Elsevier PLC is up +6% to 17.95p following an +11% increase in the interim dividend. The proposed final dividend for Reed Elsevier NV is up +11% to €0.374, following a +2% increase in the interim dividend. The difference in interim and final dividend growth rates reflects exchange rate movements between the declaration dates. The Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV full year dividends are covered 2.2x and 2.0x by adjusted EPS respectively.

Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x on a pensions and lease adjusted basis (unadjusted 1.6x): Net debt was £3.1bn/€3.7bn on 31 December 2013. Capital expenditure remained at 5% of revenues. The adjusted operating cash flow conversion rate was 97%.

Acquisitions & Disposals

In 2013 the company completed 20 small acquisitions of content and data assets across all market segments for a total consideration of £230m. They also completed the disposal of 26 assets for a total consideration of £331m. 

Chief Executive Officer, Erik Engstrom, commented, “In 2013 we remained focused on transforming our business profile and improving the quality of our earnings. We did this primarily through organic investment, supported by a small number of targeted acquisitions, and by exiting from several businesses that no longer fit our strategy. Early trends across our business in 2014 remain broadly consistent with 2013, and we are confident that, by continuing to execute on our strategy, we will deliver another year of underlying revenue, profit, and earnings growth”.

UK, London & The Netherlands, Amsterdam

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Wilmington Group – financial results for the six months ended 31 December 2013

February 25, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

wilmington-logoWilmington Group plc, the provider of Information, Compliance and Education to professional markets today announces its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2013.

 

Financial highlights

  • Adjusted EBITA increased 15% to £8.2m (2012: £7.1m)
  • Adjusted EBITA margin improved to 19.0% (2012: 17.4%)
  • Adjusted Profit before Tax was up 18% to £7.1m (2012: £6.0m)
  • Adjusted Earnings per Share were up 14% at 6.2p (2012: 5.5p)
  • Group revenues for the period increased 5% to £43.1m (2012: £40.9m)
  • Profit before tax at £3.7m (2012: £5.1m)
  • Deferred revenue increased by 23% to £19.2m (2012: £15.6m)
  • Resumption of progressive dividend policy; interim dividend increased from 3.5p to 3.6p

Operational highlights

  • Acquisition of Compliance Week
  • Growing international revenues; now 35% of consolidated revenue (2012: 29%)
  • Subscriptions and repeatable revenue at 77% (2012:77%)
  • Disposal of surplus freehold property for £700,000 in cash
  • Strong momentum in Banking & Compliance and Pensions & Insurance
  • Some challenging conditions in Healthcare and Legal markets

Current Trading

Trading in line with management expectations, outlook for 2014 remains unchanged

Wilmington also announced today that Charles Brady is to retire as Group Chief Executive. Until the right successor is in place, Brady will remain as CEO..

Mark Asplin, Chairman, said, “Wilmington has had a good start to 2014. Recent acquisitions have been integrated and are contributing to Group performance. Our bigger businesses Banking & Compliance and Pensions & Insurance are performing well with each enjoying strong organic growth. As expected, Legal had a difficult end to the Legal CPD year and continues to face challenging market conditions. There have also been strong competitive pressures in our Healthcare division but our prognosis for the medium term is encouraging with new products and potentially new markets opening up for us.

Given our solid performance overall I am pleased to report that we have decided to reinstate our progressive dividend policy. In addition, cash flow is strong enabling us to invest in important internal systems which will provide the foundation for future growth, re-engineer the way we interact with our customers and transform the way we run our businesses.

The overall trading environment has not changed significantly since the full year 2013 results announcement.  Wilmington is a well-balanced business which is increasingly international and, as we move into the second half, our financial performance is on track to support our current expectations for the full year.”

For full details and notes on the accounts, click here.

UK, London

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Monster Worldwide acquires TalentBin and Gozaik

February 24, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

MonsterOnline employment business Monster Worldwide has acquired TalentBin, a social profile talent search engine, and Gozaik, a developer of social jobs aggregation and distribution technology. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

TalentBin, based in San Francisco, matches candidates to employers through a talent database drawn from candidate talentbinactivity on social websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Quora, Meetup, Github and Stack Overflow, and provides CRM tools to allow employers to efficiently manage candidate communications.

Gozaik, based in Boston, aggregates social job announcements and distributes broad and targeted job ads across social gozaikchannels, providing employers with the ability to find, engage and hire talent on Twitter.

Both acquisitions closed during the first quarter of 2014. Monster’s strategy briefing for investors is scheduled for May 14, 2014.

USA, New York, NY & Boston, MA & San Francisco, CA

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About Monster Worldwide

Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW), is the global leader in successfully connecting job opportunities and people. Monster uses the world’s most advanced technology to help people Find Better, matching job seekers to opportunities via digital, social and mobile solutions including monster.com®, our flagship website, and employers to the best talent using a vast array of products and services. As an Internet pioneer, more than 200 million people have registered on the Monster Worldwide network. Today, with operations in more than 40 countries, Monster provides the broadest, most sophisticated job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent management capabilities globally. For more information visit about-monster.com.

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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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