Thomson Reuters completes the acquisition of Practical Law Company

February 4, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Thomson Reuters LogoThomson Reuters has completed the acquisition of Practical Law Company, a provider of practical legal know-how and workflow tools. Practical Law Company has operations in New York and London.

Previous reporting on Fusion DigiNet.

Thomson Reuters announced on January 3 that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire PLCPractical Law Company. The acquisition, which was subject to regulatory review in the U.S. and UK, has received Hart Scott Rodino clearance in the U.S. In the UK, where Thomson Reuters made a voluntary submission to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the review process is underway.

Mike Suchsland , president of the Legal business of Thomson Reuters, said, “The completion of the acquisition positions Thomson Reuters with a comprehensive portfolio of productivity solutions that combine the best legal information, expert know-how resources and software tools and are geared to help in-house lawyers and outside counsel work more efficiently and effectively. We look forward to building upon each company’s innovation, editorial legacy and expertise to create even more powerful tools to support and improve the practice of law.”

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC interim management statement for 4 months to January 30, 2013.

February 4, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney logoEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC , the international online information and events group, has issued its Interim Management Statement for the period from October 1, 2012 to January 30, 2013.

Announcement

Trading

Since reporting its 2012 results on November 15, 2012, trading has continued in line with the board’s expectations as set out in the preliminary results announcement.

As highlighted in this announcement, the challenging trading conditions experienced in the second half of financial year 2012 continued into the first quarter of financial year 2013.  Total revenues for the first quarter increased by 1% to £95.4 million, and by 2% at constant currency.

The group generates nearly two thirds of its revenues in US dollars and movements in the sterling-dollar rate can have a significant impact on reported revenues.  However, the average sterling-dollar rate for the first quarter was $1.61, against $1.58 last year, and the impact of exchange rates on revenues in the period was therefore not significant.

The following table summarises the year-on-year revenue changes for the first quarter at both headline rates and at constant currency:

Click on the table to enlarge it.

Euromoney results jan13d

The decline in subscription revenues was in line with the gradual decrease in growth rates experienced since the end of 2011.  The decline in advertising was consistent with the trend seen in the second half of financial year 2012, while the return to growth in sponsorship and delegate revenues largely arises from new events added to the portfolio.  The increase in other revenues partly reflects the settlement of content redistribution agreements in respect of previous years.  There was no significant change in the group’s adjusted operating margin during the quarter.

The performance of advertising, sponsorship and delegate revenues is closely aligned with the calendar budget cycle of most customers, which lags the group’s financial year by one quarter.  As the new calendar year starts, global financial institutions are continuing to take a cautious view of the outlook and managing their budgets for marketing, training and information buying accordingly.  The impact on the group’s revenues is difficult to determine so early in the calendar budget cycle, but recent sales trends suggest the outlook for advertising and delegate revenues will remain challenging, while the trends in subscription and sponsorship revenues are more stable.

Financial Position

Net debt at December 31, 2012 was £26.5 million, a decrease of £4.3 million since the year-end.  The first quarter is traditionally the one with the lowest operating cash flows because of the payment of annual profit shares and other incentives in December.  The only significant capital outflow in the period was the £5 million acquisition of TTI/Vanguard, the private membership forum for senior executives who lead technology innovation in global organisations (see RNS announcement on January 7, 2013).

The final dividend for financial year 2012, if approved by shareholders at today’s Annual General Meeting, is payable on February 14 2013 in the amount of £18.3 million.  This compares to a cash payment of just £4.8 million in February 2012 when a scrip dividend alternative was offered.

As reported at the time of the 2012 results, the first 50% of awards under the CAP, the group’s long-term incentive scheme, will vest on February 14 and be satisfied by the issue of approximately 1.75 million new ordinary shares and a cash payment of £7.5 million.

Outlook

Trading conditions have not changed significantly since the group announced its 2012 results.  The uncertainties over Europe and general concern in the financial services industry worldwide remain, while global financial institutions continue to cut costs, particularly people, and exit parts of their business in order to rebuild their balance sheets and satisfy tougher capital requirements imposed by regulators.

The board expects these challenging conditions to continue for the foreseeable future and will continue to manage the business tightly.  At the same time, the group will maintain its strategy of building a robust, tightly focused online information business with an emphasis on emerging markets, investing in new products and digital publishing to drive organic growth, and using its strong balance sheet and cash flows to fund further acquisitions.

The results for the six months to March 31 will be announced on May 16, 2013.  The company intends to issue a pre-close trading update on March 22.

UK, London

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Haynes Publishing Group announces interim results for the 6 months ended November 30, 2012.

February 4, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

HaynesLogoAutomotive and motorcycle repair manuals publisher Haynes Publishing Group P.L.C. has announces interim results for the 6 months ended November 30, 2012.

Financial Highlights

  • Revenue of £13.3 million (2011: £14.3 million)
  • Operating profit of £1.2 million (2011: £1.9 million)
  • Profit before tax ahead of latest broker’s interim forecast at £1.2 million (2011: £1.8 million)
  • Basic earnings per share of 5.2 pence (2011: 7.5 pence)
  • Interim dividend declared of 3.5 pence per share (2011: 6.2 pence)
  • Overheads reduced by 5% (2012: £6.3 million vs 2011: £6.6 million)
  • Australian business half year revenue 32% ahead of 2011
  • HaynesPro half year revenue 17% ahead of 2011
  • Like for like net funds1 of £5.9 million (2011: £5.0 million)
  • Strong balance sheet and cash flow generation maintained

Business Highlights

  • Increased digital capabilities though continued development of Haynes multimedia platforms
  • Digital manual range extended to over 200 titles
  • Successful launch of over 40 new eBook titles
  • New Vice President of Sales hired to strengthen US business
  • Vivid rebranded as ‘HaynesPro’ broadening global commercial opportunities
  • New offices in Romania purchased to accommodate growing digital technical team
  • Strategic consumer-focused review on track for completion by June 2013

Rad the full statement here.

UK, Somerset & USA, Los Angeles, CA

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Future plc interim management statement for the period from 1 October 2012 to date

February 4, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Future plc, the international media group and leading digital publisher, has announced its Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 October 2012 to date, incorporating the Group’s first quarter for the three months ended 31 December 2012.

futureplc

Announcement

Trading Performance (Normalised*)

·      Digital revenues up 24%

·      Group revenues down 3% (UK down 1%)

·      US continues on track for EBITDA** profitability in 2013

Normalised revenues in the first quarter were down 3%, driven mainly by the continuing managed decline of print activities in the US. The UK-based business performed solidly with normalised revenues down 1% year-on-year.

In the first quarter, digital revenues grew 24% year-on-year and now represent 23% of normalised revenues, compared with 18% for the first quarter of FY12. Digital advertising has grown to represent 54% of total advertising revenues, up from 45% a year ago. Normalised digital circulation revenues on iPads and other tablets have averaged quarterly growth of 16% over the last year, and we now have over 40 of our brands on Google Play’s new Magazine Shop, which launched in December.

In the US, digital advertising now represents 74% of total advertising revenues (from 64% a year ago), reflecting the faster acceleration from print to digital platforms. First quarter losses in the US were lower than in FY12, as planned, and we maintain our expectation of EBITDA profitability in the US business in FY13.

Active Portfolio Management

Our active portfolio management has continued with the closure of certain print brands (PSM3 and Xbox World in the UK, and Nintendo Power and PlayStation – The Official Magazine in the US), and the launch of new digital brands (Gathered by Mollie Makes, tech., Photography Week and Football Week) as well as a new print title, Simply Crochet, which was launched on 10 January 2013. We will continue to manage the portfolio as the transition from print to digital progresses.

Financial Position

Net debt at 31 December 2012 was £16.8m, a reduction of 6% year-on-year, as expected. We expect to announce a new credit facility within the first half of the current financial year.

Outlook

We expect trading for the full year to be in line with our expectations. Print revenues remain challenging but we expect digital revenues to maintain a steady growth rate.

Mark Wood, Future’s Chief Executive, said: “We are pleased to have achieved steady growth in our digital revenues in the first quarter. We will continue to focus on generating new revenues from our large, global online audience of 50 million unique users. We now sell digital editions on all the major tablet platforms and, through content partnerships, we are able to enter new markets, as most recently demonstrated by our move into English Premier League Football with Football Week.”

UK, London

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Guardian owner calls off talks over Trader Media

January 24, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

guardian-media-group-logoThe Financial Times is reporting that Guardian Media Group has ended talks with with Apax and other private equity investors over the sale of its 50.1% share of Trader Media Group.

The FT, quoting two people with knowledge of the offer, said that the valuation of £1.2bn including net debt of £600m, was significantly less than GMG had hoped for.

Read the full FT story here

UK, London

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McGraw-Hill Education to acquire a 20 percent equity stake in Area9 Aps

January 24, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

McgrawhilleducationMcGraw-Hill Education is to acquire a 20 percent equity stake in Area9 Aps, the Denmark-based adaptive learning company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

McGraw-Hill Education’s equity investment in Area9 marks the culmination of a longstanding relationship between the two companies. Since 2007, McGraw-Hill Education and Area9 have worked together to develop products that deliver personalised learning experiences by using adaptive technology to continually assess students’ knowledge and skill levels and design study paths that bolster students’ understanding in the areas where they need to improve the most. By allowing students to focus their outside-of-class study time on the area-9topics and concepts that are most challenging to them, McGraw-Hill Education’s adaptive solutions have been shown to help students study more efficiently, develop greater proficiency and earn better grades. As part of the agreement, McGraw-Hill Education and Area9 will work together to develop new adaptive learning products, both within and outside the higher education market.

“At McGraw-Hill Education, we have a passion for teaching and learning, and we believe that delivering personalized experiences through adaptive technology is a key ingredient to teaching and learning success,” said Brian Kibby, president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education. “Through our investment in Area9, we’re working to create more deeply integrated teaching and learning experiences that we  see as a central element in the future of education.”

Founded in 2006 by Dr. Ulrik Juul Christensen, Area9 develops technologies that fix the gaps in helping people learn with the goal of finding a better way of delivering training and education. Area9’s roots trace back to the early 1990s, when at the Danish Institute for Medical Simulation Dr.Christensen began to see how adaptive technology could improve the inefficiencies in medical training. Through years of research and development, Dr. Christensen and Area9 realized that adaptive technologies could be developed to make learning more effective and efficient for students everywhere.

USA, New York, NY & Denmark, Copenhagen

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Pearson trading update – continuing tough market conditions

January 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson2Pearson has provided a January trading update. They will report preliminary results for 2012 on 25 February 2013.

See below:

In general, Pearson’s businesses continue to face tough market conditions and structural industry change which we see continuing into 2013. The company continues to gain share in key markets and to benefit from its investments in digital services and developing economies.

Market conditions remained weak, as expected, in the key fourth-quarter selling season for higher education, consumer publishing and corporate advertising. For 2012 as a whole we expect to report good revenue growth at constant exchange rates, operating profit of approximately £935m (broadly level at CER), adjusted earnings of approximately 84p per share and cash conversion of close to 90%. The 2012 results will reflect the absence of a profit contribution from FTSE International (£20m of operating profit and 2.2p of EPS in 2011) and the impact of the radically-changed trading environment for Pearson in Practice, which led to the recent decision to plan to exit that business.

Our North American education business will report modest revenue growth at constant exchange rates, indicating another year of significant market share gains in North America. 2012 was a particularly tough year for the US educational materials industry, with net sales for the combined US School and Higher Education publishing industries declining by 11% in the first 11 months of the year, according to the AAP. Our services and digital learning revenues continued to grow rapidly and we benefited from a strong performance from recent acquisitions and tight cost control.

Our International education business will report double digit sales growth at constant exchange rates as we continued to perform well in developing markets, assessment and English Language Teaching. School publishing markets remained generally subdued as a result of macroeconomic pressure and weak government funding in developed markets. Margins will be level with 2011 as we continue to invest to build scale, particularly in developing markets.

Our Professional education business will report operating profits significantly lower than in 2011. We have achieved good growth once again in professional testing but our UK adult training business, Pearson in Practice, faced a dramatic fall in demand with changes to the apprenticeships programme. We believe this business no longer has a sustainable model and therefore recently announced that we are planning for the exit or closure of Pearson in Practice. As previously announced, the cost of closure and impairment is expected to be approximately £120m and will be reported as a loss on disposal in Pearson’s 2012 statutory accounts.

The Financial Times Group will report good revenue growth for the full year, in spite of a slow fourth quarter caused by weaker advertising sales. Our digital and subscription-based revenues continued to grow well at both the FT and Mergermarket. The FT Group’s full-year profits will be significantly lower than in 2011, reflecting the absence of a contribution from FTSE International following its disposal and further actions to accelerate the shift from print to digital.

Penguin benefited from a good fourth-quarter publishing performance and traded in line with our expectations in its key selling season. It will report revenues in line with 2011 at constant exchange rates in spite of rapid industry change and tough conditions in the physical book retail market. Following Pearson and Bertelsmann’s announcement of their plans to combine Penguin with Random House, the two companies are seeking clearance for the proposed merger from appropriate regulatory authorities around the world. Though the timing of this process is inevitably uncertain, its completion will prompt significant restructuring as we demerge Penguin from Pearson and integrate it with Random House. We believe that the combined organisation will have a stronger platform and greater resources to invest in rich content, new digital publishing models and high-growth emerging markets.

For the full year, we expect our total interest charge to adjusted earnings to be approximately £50m (including a £12m pensions finance credit) and our effective tax rate to be around the low end of our guidance of 24-26% with our cash tax rate benefiting from the deferral of a tax payment into 2013.

Pearson generates approximately 60% of its sales in the US. The average £:$ exchange rate during 2012 was 1.59. The year end £:$ exchange rate was 1.63. A five cent move in the average £:$ exchange rate for the full year has an impact of approximately 1.4p on adjusted earnings per share.

UK, London

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Smiths News subsidiary acquires Dutch book supplier Erasmus

January 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

smithnewsBertram Books, a wholly owned subsidiary of UK newspaper and magazine wholesaler Smiths News PLC, has acquired Erasmus Antiquariaat en Boekhandel B.V. from Tschenett Beheer B.V. for  €1.5m via its subsidiary Dawson Books Ltd.

Erasmus, based in the Netherlands, is a supplier of books and journals into both academic libraries and erasmusGovernment Institutions mainly across Northern Europe. In the year ended 31 December 2012, Erasmus generated revenues of €15m.

The acquisition brings a complementary customer base to Bertrams with strong penetration in France, Germany and Switzerland. The deal will also provide entry into the U.S market and increases total international sales to £50 million on a pro forma basis. The acquisition is expected to be earnings neutral in FY13, adding an incremental £0.4m in FY14.

Mark Cashmore, Chief Executive Officer of Smiths News PLC, said: “We are delighted to have completed another strategic bolt-on acquisition, which is an excellent addition to our books business.  Erasmus extends our Northern European academic business and accelerates our expansion plans.  The Group will benefit from an increase in scale and a stronger sales presence in Northern Europe.”

UK, Swindon, Wiltshire & Netherlands, Amsterdam

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The USA TODAY Travel Media Group acquires 10Best.com

January 19, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

USA TODAY LOGOThe USA TODAY Travel Media Group has acquired 10Best.com. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

10Best.com provides users with original, unbiased, and experiential travel content of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world. The content is produced by writers living in the city they write about. In 2012, 10Best.com averaged more than 700,000 monthly unique visitors generating approximately 28 million page views.10best

10Best.com will continue as a standalone travel media site and its content will be featured in USA TODAY Travel Media Group travel products. The content will also be used across other Gannett media outlets.

“As we welcome the 10Best brand and team into the USA TODAY family, we believe their expertise in fresh, useful and engaging travel content will greatly contribute toward expanding our product offerings,” said John Peters , president of USA TODAY Travel Media Group. “Travel is in the DNA of USA TODAY and for decades we’ve been providing our audience with helpful and easy to use travel content. 10Best fits very well into our overall travel strategy as we continue to expand our digital portfolio of travel news, products and services.”

USA, McLean, VA

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LexisNexis® to Sell its Screening Solutions Portfolio to Symphony Technology Group

January 18, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

lexisnexisReed Elsevier’s LexisNexis Risk Solutions has sold its LexisNexis screening business to the Palo Alto-based private equity firm Symphony Technology Group (STG). STG plans to combine LexisNexis screening with its portfolio company, First Advantage.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the FT is reporting that analysts at UBS valued the screening unit at up to $300m, based on estimated revenues of $180m and earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of $30m.symphonytg

“The decision to sell the screening business came after a careful review of the needs of the business and the strategic goals we have in place,” said Mark Kelsey, CEO, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “While the screening business has been a significant offering within the LexisNexis portfolio, there is greater long-term opportunity for the business with an organization like First Advantage, which is focused on bringing background screening solutions to the marketplace.”

“The combination of these two leading companies will transform how employers select and screen their employees, dramatically improving the quality of their talent and their recruiting processes and productivity,” said Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, Chairman and CEO of Symphony Technology Group. “The customers of First Advantage and LexisNexis Risk Solutions now have access to the industry’s broadest set of services and expertise and the best technology and solutions for acquiring and retaining the best and most skilled talent available.”

USA, Atlanta, GA & Palo Alto, CA

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