DMGT Half Year Preliminary Results

May 23, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

DMGT have announced their half Yearly Financial Report for the six months ended 31 March 2013. They report a good underlying performance, with the full Year outlook unchanged.

Financial Highlights

                  Half Year   Half Year    Reported   Underlying  Half Year  Half Year
                    2013         2012      Change~     Change~      2013       2012
                             (restated)+                                    (restated)+
Revenue             £915m       £974m        -6%         +2%        £866m      £866m
Operating profit    £146m       £133m        +10%        +7%        £97m       £68m
Profit before       £137m       £105m        +30%                   £97m       £37m
tax
Earnings per        25.8p       19.6p        +32%                   28.2p      15.8p
share
Dividend per                                                        5.9p       5.6p
share
  • DMGT underlying revenue up 2%; underlying operating profit up 7%
  • Adjusted profit before tax of £137m, up 30%
  • Good performance from B2B; underlying revenue up 6% and underlying profit up 5%
  • Underlying revenue decline of 2% at dmg media; improved profit margin driven by cost efficiencies, resulting in underlying profit up 7%
  • Active portfolio management; bolt-on acquisitions and disposal of non-core assets
  • Net debt up £111m to £724m; net debt:EBITDA ratio of 1.85
  • Share buy back programme progressing well
  • Dividend increased by 5%
  • Outlook for the full year unchanged

Martin Morgan, Chief Executive, said:

“We have delivered a good underlying performance in the first half reflecting the strength of our B2B companies and the resilience of our national consumer titles. As expected, reported operating profit increased despite a decline in reported revenue resulting from recent disposals.

Our international B2B companies have increased their underlying revenues and profits* by 6% and 5% respectively. Our UK consumer business, dmg media, continued to experience challenging conditions and underlying revenues were slightly down, although the increase in digital revenues more than offset the decline in print advertising revenues and the business delivered a 7% underlying increase in operating profit*.

We have continued to actively manage our portfolio of businesses and have made several acquisitions and disposals during the period and into the second half, to improve the overall quality and growth prospects of the Group.

Relative to last year, the first half of the year benefited from the timing of biennial events and the absence of a bond redemption premium. Conversely we expect the comparatives in the second half of the year to be adversely impacted by the timing of biennial events and the Olympics, which were one-off benefits for us in the second half of the last financial year. Overall, the outlook for the full year remains unchanged.”

For further information click here.

UK, London

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Future plc – interim results for the half-year ended 31 March 2013

May 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Future plc, the  specialist media group and  digital publisher,has announced  unaudited interim results for the half-year ended 31 March 2013.

Financial Highlights

Future results 2013 v2

Click on the table for a larger image.

Summary

  • Group revenues down 1%, EBITDAE down 23%, impacted by cyclical decline in Games market
  • Group digital revenues up 33% year-on-year and now represent 25% of Group revenues
  • US operations on track to return to EBITDAE profitability in FY13
  • New credit facility for four years to February 2017
  • Sale of UK Rock titles in April for £10.2m strengthens the balance sheet to support continued investment in the transition to a predominantly digital business

Digital highlights

  • Unique users up 46% year-on-year to 51.4 million a month
  • Page views up 38% year-on-year to 299 million a month
  • Digital advertising now represents 57% of total advertising, up from 47% a year ago
  • Over five million digital editions sold across all platforms
  • Over 300,000 subscribers to digital editions, up over 75% since March 2012
  • FutureFolio signed up to power 80 digital magazines for third parties

Mark Wood, Chief Executive, said, “We experienced some difficult trading conditions in the first half, above all in the Games market, which has been in a trough ahead of new console releases from Microsoft and Sony. However, the first half figures mask tremendous progress towards a predominantly digital business, reflected in a 33% growth in digital revenues. “Our refocusing of the US business is on track to meet our commitment to return the US to EBITDAE profitability this year.

“Despite continued challenging conditions, and the impact of the Games cycle, we are seeing increased momentum on commercial revenues, contributions from new initiatives and bottom line improvements from cost efficiencies. These all point to a strong performance in the second half of the year, much as we saw in FY12, and we believe we are on track to achieve results broadly in line with our expectations.”

UK, London

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Bloomsbury Publishing – unaudited Preliminary Results for the year ended 28 February 2013

May 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury has reported unaudited Preliminary Results for the year ended 28 February 2013. Profit before tax has increased by 16% to £9.8m for the year, with e-book sales growing by 61% to £9.1m over the period.

Turnover is slightly up at 1% to £98.5m, compared to £97.4m for the previous year. Continuing profit before tax and highlighted items was up 3% year-on-year, to £12.5m.

Financial highlights

  • Continuing* profit before tax and highlighted** items up 3% to £12.5 million (2012: £12.1 million)
  • Continuing* profit before tax up 16% to £9.8 million (2012: £8.5 million)
  • Continuing* turnover up 1% to £98.5 million (2012: £97.4 million)
  • Total dividend increased by 5.8% to 5.50 pence per share (2012: 5.20 pence per share)
  • Net cash increased to £14.6 million (2012: £12.6 million)

Click here for full details of the announcement.

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, said, “This is an excellent performance. Bloomsbury’s core attributes of entrepreneurship, innovation, publicity flair and tight control of costs have led to the delivery of One Global Bloomsbury, and the future performance we have now set the stage for as we enjoy the synergies and sales advantages of having delivered a unified worldwide publishing group. In our strategy for growth we are targeting 50% of profit to be digital within five years, with Bloomsbury being the number one applied visual arts and independent humanities and social science publisher in Europe. Over that time we aim to be the number one publisher of choice in cookery, sport and natural history, with an Information division which has a global base delivering increasing revenues from digital knowledge hubs.

We start the year with a very strong programme led by today’s publication of And the Mountains Echoed by bestselling author Khaled Hosseini”

UK, London

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Ziff Davis acquires NetShelter from inPowered

May 20, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

ziffdavisZiff Davis, the  digital media company in the technology, gaming and men’s lifestyle categories, has acquired NetShelter. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ziff Davis is a division of j2 Global, Inc.

NetShelter is a network of over 150  consumer and business tech sites, including AndroidCentral.com, MacRumors.com, Neoseeker.com, SlashGear.com and TechSpot.com, which create over 40,000 articles every month, delivering nearly 16 billion ad impressions per year.

Vivek Shah, CEO of Ziff Davis, said: “The acquisition of NetShelter fully returns Ziff Davis to the dominant netsheltermarket position in the technology vertical. We will combine our best-in-class ad targeting capabilities and trading desk expertise with what our marketers need most today: High-quality, high-impact inventory that’s available at scale on trusted sites frequented by tech enthusiasts.”

Hemi Zucker, CEO of j2 Global, said: “This acquisition not only extends Ziff Davis’ leadership position in the tech vertical but makes Ziff Davis overall one of the largest digital media companies in the U.S. that can deliver advertisers targeted, highly desirable audiences of significant scale.

USA, New York, NY

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Legacy.com acquires iAnnounce

May 16, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

legacyLegacy.com, a provider of online obituary solutions in the U.S., has acquired Web Announcements Ltd. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Web Announcements Ltd was founded in 2006 and is the parent company of iAnnounce, the UK provider of online obituaries and family announcements solutions.

The combined company will have partnerships with more than 1,300 newspapers around the globe, from Legacy.com’s base in North iannounce_logoAmerica to Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Web Announcements’ iAnnounce platform for online obituaries in Europe will continue to be available.

Stopher Bartol, CEO of Legacy.com, said, “We’ve been impressed for some time with the company that Web Announcements Ltd has built. We are thrilled to be working with them and to welcome their affiliates into the Legacy.com network. Customers of both Legacy.com and iAnnounce will be the winners from this merger. ”

Alex Stitt, CEO of Web Announcements Ltd., said, “iAnnounce newspaper partners across Europe will enjoy access to new opportunities to serve readers and create value. Legacy.com brings over a decade of innovation in the online obituary category to what will be a truly exceptional combined company. My team is thrilled to join the team at Legacy.com.”

USA, Evanston, IL

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Centaur – Profits to miss forecast – Executives out

May 16, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

centaurCentaur Media plc , the business information, events and marketing services group, has issued an interim management statement for the period to 14 May 2013 and announced that CEO, Geoff Wilmot is to leave.

Profits before tax will be nearly a quarter less than analysts had forecast, at £8.5m for the year. The company is blaming the miss on poor performance in their  print, recruitment and overseas revenues

According to the Financial Times Geoff Wilmot was dismissed following a board meeting on Tuesday. Mark Kerswell, Centaur’s chief financial officer and formerly chief operating officer of Informa, will take over as interim chief executive.

Tim Potter, MD of the Business Publishing division has also left Centaur.

The full announcement is below:

As a result of a number of factors annotated below, the Board now expects to deliver modest profit growth for the current financial year to 30 June 2013, relative to the adjusted profit before tax of £8m reported last year.  This is below market expectations.

Current trading and outlook

Reported Group revenues in the four months to 30 April 2013 are 8% ahead of the same period last year. Total underlying revenues in the same period were down by 2% compared to the 3% underlying decline in H1. On the same underlying basis, digital revenues grew by 4% compared to 1% in H1, events revenues grew by 7% compared to 12% in H1, and print revenues fell by 14%, in line with H1.

May and June represent two of Centaur’s most important trading months, typically generating in the region of 45% of full year EBITDA.  Visibility of advertising revenues for this period still remains limited and delivery of corporate training revenues is also volatile.

Although revenue trends and forward bookings are improving, the Board does not now anticipate underlying revenues for the Group as a whole returning to growth in the remainder of the financial year to 30 June 2013, as had previously been anticipated.

The principal factors impacting the underlying and reported performance across the Group are:

  • Weakness in print advertising, which has been most evident across the financial titles. The Board had anticipated a significant improvement in performance in line with recovering stock markets. However, the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review in January 2013 has had a more marked impact than was anticipated on forecast levels of print advertising spend in this financial year.
  • Despite improving economic conditions, recruitment revenues have not yet returned to growth as was anticipated when the Group published its half year results in February 2013.
  • Econsultancy’s overseas operations have incurred losses, primarily as a result of the deferral of corporate training contracts into the next financial year.

The impact of these factors has been partially offset by the effect of prior year cost savings and growth in other parts of the Group. However, the operational leverage associated with these revenues means that the Board now only expects to deliver modest profit growth relative to adjusted profit before tax of £8m reported last financial year.

Board and organisational changes

Geoff Wilmot is stepping down as CEO but has agreed to remain with the business until the end of the financial year in order to implement a smooth handover to Mark Kerswell, who is now interim CEO.

Tim Potter, MD of the Business Publishing division has decided to leave Centaur. The process to appoint his successor has commenced.

Business Publishing

Underlying revenues declined by 6% in the four months to 30 April compared to a 9% decline in H1. Digital display revenues grew by 17% in the four months to 30 April compared to a decline of 4% in H1. Events revenues grew by 3% in the four months to 30 April compared to a decline of 11% in H1.

Business Information

Underlying revenues declined, as expected, by 3% in the four months to 30 April compared to 3% growth in H1. Reported revenues, all of which are digital and events based, continue to show good rates of growth, reflecting the impact of recent acquisitions. Growth in reported digital revenues is being led by subscriptions growth across Econsultancy and Profile, where annualised contract values are growing in excess of 20% per annum. Econsultancy’s UK business continues to report strong growth in revenues and profits.

Exhibitions

Events revenues account for approximately two thirds of this division’s revenues and continue to deliver healthy growth, with underlying revenues 11% ahead in the four months to 30 April compared to 17% growth in H1.  Growth in the final two months of the 2013 financial year is expected to be flat, but the outlook for growth in 2014 events revenues remains encouraging. The remainder of this division’s revenues comprise revenues from the specialist home interest publication brands, where both print and digital revenues continue to report good rates of underlying revenue growth.

Cash flow, balance sheet and exceptional items

Operating cash flow in the four months to 30 April 2013 was marginally lower than in the same period last year, reflecting higher levels of capital expenditure and working capital. Net debt at 30 April 2013 was £24.4m and will reduce in the final two months of the year. Exceptional costs in the second half of the year will include earn-out costs related to the acquisitions of FEM, IPL and VBR, the unwinding of the discount related to the Econsultancy earn-out, and further restructuring initiatives.

Patrick Taylor, Chairman, commented, “Although disappointed by the weak performance in our print, recruitment and overseas revenues we are continuing to make good progress in diversifying our revenue mix towards higher growth digital and events. Looking ahead, our investment in existing and new products has given us a strong pipeline of new digital platforms and event launches.  With print revenues expected to stabilise, digital and events revenues growing well, and deferred revenues of £19m, 32% ahead of the same period last year, we believe that the outlook for the 2014 financial year remains positive.”

UK, London

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Euromoney Institutional Investor – 6 months results to March 2013

May 16, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney logoEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC, the  online information and events group, achieved an adjusted profit before tax of £52.4m for the six months to March 31 2013, against £48.6m for the same period in 2012. Total revenues fell by 1% to £187.3m.  Underlying revenues, after adjusting for timing differences on events, increased by 1%.  Subscriptions returned to growth after a decline in the first quarter; event revenues were broadly flat after adjusting for timing differences; and advertising remained weak but only accounts for 12% of total revenues.

Highlights

Euromoney 6 month results May 13

Click on the table for easier viewing

  • Revenues down 1% to £187.3m, as expected
  • Revenues excluding event timing differences up 1%
  • Subscriptions return to growth in second quarter
  • Adjusted profit before tax up 8% to £52.4m
  • Adjusted operating margin unchanged at 30%
  • Increased investment in new products and digital migration
  • Net debt remains at historically low levels and less than 0.5x EBITDA
  • Four bolt-on acquisitions announced since January
  • Interim dividend maintained at 7p a share
  • Second half trading in line with board’s expectations

Commenting on the first half results, chairman Richard Ensor said, “The group’s strategy of building a focused global online information business has underpinned the company’s bottom line growth despite the challenging markets.  We have continued to invest in technology and new products to drive organic growth, and have made acquisitions from which we expect to drive future revenue synergies.  Overall, trading remains in line with the board’s expectations. ”

For full details click here

UK, London

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Management buyout of Fareham Agency from Ten Alps

May 14, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

tenalpsTen Alps Plc, has sold its assets and liabilities in the Fareham Agency, held via its subsidiary Ten Alps Communications Limited (“TAC”), for a net cash consideration of £144,616 and an agreed write-off of the net intercompany balances of £687,702 owed to the Fareham Agency by Ten Alps and its subsidiaries less retained cash of £154,219. The disposal was effected by way of a management buyout completed by Scott Ford, director of TAC.

The Fareham Agency was part of Osprey Communications in to which Ten Alps reversed in July 2001. Previously known as Ten Alps RMA it became part of Ten Alps Communications after the acquisition of McMillan Scott in March 2006 and was later renamed Ten Alps Creative & Media. The business offers design, production, PR and media buying services across the full range of platforms including print, online, events, TV/radio and video formats.

TAC is disposing of net assigned assets of £62,168 for a net cash consideration of £144,616. The assets being disposed of are trade receivables, net inventories, prepayments and net media buying cash whilst liabilities include trade payables, deferred income and accruals. TAC has retained £154,219 of cash following the disposal. The unit had revenues of c£5m, EBITDA of £23k and profit before tax of £8k in 2012.

UK, London

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Peter Bertram, Chairman, commented:

“Following a review of the B2B Division and the Group’s stated objective of focussing on core assets it was concluded that the Agency business was non-core. As mentioned above the Agency has been part of the Group since 2001 and has helped deliver commended creative content to an impressive list of clients.We wish Scott and all the staff a bright future in their new venture.”

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Experian – Preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2013

May 9, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

experianExperian, the  information services company, has issued its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2013.

More details are available on the Experian website at www.experianplc.com

Strategic highlights

  • Strong FY13 performance; considerable strategic progress with our global growth programme gaining momentum and delivering strong results.
  • Notable performances from North America and Latin America, particularly in Credit Services, and from Consumer Services in the UK&I.

Financial highlights

  • Revenue from continuing activities up 10%, at constant exchange rates. Organic revenue growth of 8%. Total revenue from continuing activities up 6%. Total Group revenue of US$4.7bn (2012: US$4.5bn).
  • Strong margin progression. EBIT margin from continuing activities up 40 basis points to 26.6%. EBIT from continuing activities up 13%, at constant exchange rates. Total EBIT from continuing operations of US$1,253m up 7%.
  • Profit before tax from continuing operations of US$440m (2012: US$689m), after an IFRS charge of US$558m (2012: US$325m) from the movement in the Serasa put option.
  • Benchmark profit before tax of US$1,195m, up 6%. Benchmark EPS of 85.7 US cents, up 9%. Basic EPS from continuing operations of 25.2 US cents (2012: 66.8 US cents).
  • Net debt of US$2,938m at 31 March 2013. 94% conversion of EBIT into operating cash flow.

Shareholder returns

  • Second interim dividend of 24.00 US cents per ordinary share, to give full-year dividend of 34.75 US cents per ordinary share, up 9%.
  • Plan to initiate a share purchase programme totalling US$500m over the next 12 months (inclusive of share purchases in respect of employee share plans that vest).

Sir John Peace, Chairman, commented, “Experian has delivered excellent financial results and has built firm foundations to sustain premium performance into the future. In keeping with our capital strategy, which seeks to balance growth investment with returns to shareholders, we are today announcing a further share repurchase programme, along with a 9% increase in our full-year dividend.”

UK, London

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Morningstar Acquires Remaining Ownership Interest in Morningstar Sweden

May 3, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

morningstarMorningstar has acquired its remaining ownership interest in Morningstar Sweden AB from Stadsporten Citygate AB and two private investors.

Morningstar, through one of its subsidiaries, acquired its remaining 76 percent ownership stake for approximately U.S. $13 million, or approximately SEK 87 million, subject to post-closing adjustments.

Fondstar AB, a subsidiary of Citygate, licensed Morningstar’s methodology and began providing ratings for funds in 1998.Morningstar Europe B.V . and Citygate established a joint venture in 2001, formally incorporating Morningstar Sweden AB. Morningstar’s main offerings in Sweden include Morningstar Direct, Morningstar Data, Integrated Web Tools, and Morningstar.se, an investment information website for individual investors that provides fund and ETF data, portfolio tools, and market analysis.

“Together with Citygate and the local management team, we’ve been supplying investment data and other research tools to Swedish investors for more than a decade,” said Bevin Desmond, president of international operations for Morningstar. “We’re pleased to fully integrate Morningstar Sweden into our Nordic operations, providing seamless access to our offerings and better serving clients across the region.”

Morningstar has 25 employees based in Stockholm. George Sallfeldt, chief executive officer, will continue to lead the company. Morningstar serves more than 200 clients in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland and provides complete data on more than 2,000 domiciled mutual funds and 20,000 funds registered for sale in the local markets. Morningstar also has data coverage on all listed stocks and several other investment offerings in the Nordic region.

USA, Chicago, IL & Sweden, Stockholm

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