Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 4116H

Centaur Media PLC

19 May 2014

 



19 May 2014

Centaur Media Plc

Interim Management Statement

Centaur Media plc (LSE: CAU, "the Group", "Centaur"), the business information, events and media group, today issues its interim management statement for the period from 1 January 2014, based on results for the four month period to 30 April 2014 and with further commentary on trading up to 16 May 2014.

Current trading and outlook

Group revenues in the period of £24.4m were the same as the first four months of 2013.  Paid-for content revenues grew by 13% with the accelerating rate of growth underpinned by annualised contract values at 30 April 2014, 18% higher than at 30 April 2013. Advertising and events revenues were impacted by weakness across the Group's Financial portfolio, its second largest industry sector, where revenues in the period of £4.6m were 15% lower than in the same period last year. Excluding the financial portfolio, Group revenues grew by 5%.

There are some external and legacy issues in the Financial and HR portfolios which will adversely impact Group profitability in the first half of 2014. These issues are specific and are being addressed.  At this stage of the year the Board anticipates trading across Centaur for the full year to remain broadly in line with its expectations.

Deferred revenues at 30 April 2014 were £21.2m, 9% ahead of the same period last year. Forward bookings across the exhibitions portfolio in the second half of the financial year are 16% ahead of the same point last year.

The Group's businesses are now benefiting from new operational changes that will deliver better efficiency and cohesion.  Specific initiatives include the grouping of complementary products in market portfolios and the restructuring of the commercial sales and marketing teams. The second half of 2014 will see the operational benefits of group-wide procurement and marketing, and reduced capital expenditure.

The Group has also conditionally agreed to sell Perfect Information Limited to Mergermarket Limited for an enterprise value of £26m and to the early settlement of the earn-out entitlement of the former shareholders of E-consultancy.com Limited for £12.5m in cash - see separate announcement.

Andria Vidler, Chief Executive, commented:

"Although we are going through a period of rapid change, our audiences remain at the heart of our business. We are passionate about delivering excellent content to enable them to become better at what they do.

 "We know that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and by bringing together our range of complementary products under market portfolio management, we can deliver the clearest insight, a better audience experience and robust operational efficiency.

"As the pace of growth in our core digital, paid-for content revenues continues to accelerate, we have identified a number of opportunities to use the technical functionality that underpins these revenues more widely across the Group.

"The operational changes introduced over the last few months are showing visible strategic progress.  This is enabling us to tackle historical issues swiftly, refresh underperforming products and revitalise our commercial leadership. We expect all of these changes to contribute to a stronger performance in the second half of 2014."

Business review¹

Marketing

Revenues across the marketing portfolio of £7.1m were 4% higher than in the same period last year. The Profile Group's paid-for content revenues grew by 37% to £1.6m and are well supported by annualised contract values that are 37% ahead of the position at 30 April 2013. Econsultancy is trading ahead of expectations, with its paid-for content revenues growing well and with annualised contract values up 37%. Adjusted for the impact of discontinued, lower margin events activity Econsultancy's underlying revenues grew by 10%. Total advertising revenues across the portfolio were 4% lower than the same period last year.

Centaur is encouraged by the significant opportunities across this portfolio. With the management team now leveraging proven leadership from within The Profile Group, the scale across the portfolio is enabling Centaur to harness its combined strengths effectively, with continuing focus on delivering greater insight into customers and audiences.

Financial

Revenues across the financial portfolio of £4.6m were 15% lower than in the same period last year, with display advertising revenues 32% lower. Events revenues fell by 14%, reflecting the impact of more stringent regulatory requirements that are affecting both audiences and sponsors. Paid-for content revenues grew by 12%, reflecting continued strong growth across The Platforum. The flagship financial title, Money Marketing,has already been re-launched with a sharper focus on the provision of insight and advice to the professional IFA audience it serves.

Home Interest

Revenues across the Home Interest portfolio of £4.3m were 1% up on the same period last year. Greater activity across the homebuilding and home improvement sectors is already benefiting the Group's home interest publishing titles, where both print and digital revenues grew modestly. While exhibition revenues have yet to improve, The National Homebuilding & Renovating Show held at the NEC in March, delivered visitor numbers 28% up on the prior year. Centaur is confident that the new content and commercial structure that is now in place will enable faster growth across this portfolio.

Professional

The Professional division comprises the businesses within the four subsidiary market divisions: Legal, HR, Engineering and New Markets. Total revenues across the Professional division of £8.1m were 6% ahead of the same period last year, primarily reflecting excellent growth across the Business Travel Show, which ran in February 2014 with revenues 36% up on the previous year.

Across each of the Professional market portfolios, initiatives to drive a sharper focus on markets and audiences continue alongside a pipeline of new product development. Adjusted for event phasing, revenues across the legal portfolio of £2m were 4% higher than in the same period in 2013 and under refreshed commercial leadership, the Group is encouraged by the print, digital, and events opportunities across The Lawyer brand. Revenues across the HR portfolio of £1 million were 16% lower than in the same period last year, with advertising and events revenues across both FEM and Employee Benefits lower than in the same period last year.

¹ Unless otherwise stated, all references to revenues and growth rates are for the four month period to 30 April 2014

Cash flow and balance sheet

Operating cash flow in the four months to 30 April 2014 was in line with the same period last year. Net debt at 30 April 2014 was £26.5m and is expected to reduce in the final two months of the six month period. The cash impact of implementing further efficiency savings over the remainder of this financial year will be funded by improvements in operating cash flow, driven by further improvements in working capital and reduced capital expenditure.

Enquiries

Centaur Media plc      

Andria Vidler, Chief Executive Officer                                                                                [phone]

Mark Kerswell, Group Finance Director

Instinctif Partners     

Adrian Duffield / Kay Larsen                                                                                            [phone]

Note to editors

Centaur Media is a leading UK-based business information, events and media group. It strives to be the first place professionals and consumers turn for information, insight and interaction.

Its portfolio of leading market brands includes: Marketing Week, Econsultancy, The Profile Group, Creative Review, Design Week, Money Marketing, The Platforum, Tax Briefs, The Lawyer, VBR, Employee Benefits, The Engineer, Homebuilding & Renovating, Period Living and Real Homes, The Business Travel Show, The Meetings Show and SubCon. 

 

END

 

 

IMSBVLLFZEFZBBD