Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 1717S

Wilmington Group Plc

05 November 2013

 



5 November 2013

Wilmington Group plc

Interim Management Statement

Wilmington Group plc ("Wilmington" or "the Group"), the provider of Information, Compliance and Education to professional markets presents its Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 July 2013, based on the results for the three months ended 30 September 2013 with comments reflecting trading to date. This statement is also being made at the Group's Annual General Meeting being held today.

Trading Update

Group revenue during the three months ended 30 September 2013 was as expected marginally up on the same period in 2012, with revenues from acquisitions offset by planned disposals and discontinued marginal activities.

Pensions & Insurance: This division continues to deliver strong revenue and contribution growth and during the period high margins have been maintained.  Inese, the provider of Spanish language subscription based publications, events and online services which was acquired in March 2013, has had a solid start to the new financial year.

Banking & Compliance: AMT which delivers most of its revenue and contribution during the summer months has delivered good revenue and contribution in line with our expectations, with a particularly strong performance from its graduate programmes in New York.  ICT (compliance training) has continued to secure major in-house training assignments from International Banks and has a strong pipeline of projects into next year.  The integration of Compliance Week, a provider of subscription based publications, events and online services which was acquired in August 2013, is progressing as planned, including the successful launch of the first Compliance Week event in Europe.

Healthcare: The strong performance reported by APM in France during 2013 has continued.  Binley's revenues remain under pressure but overall profit contribution from the division has been maintained due to good cost control.  The integration of NHiS, a provider of business intelligence, data analysis, workflow tools and other services to pharmaceutical companies, which was combined with the smaller equivalent Binley's operation has progressed well.

Legal: The Legal division has continued to show a decline in turnover, reflecting planned disposals and the further scaling back of some course programmes as demand for CPD courses in the busiest time of the training year was weaker than expected.  However, this revenue decline is offset to a large degree by the more flexible cost base and the continued strong performance from Bond Solon.

Business Intelligence:  As anticipated, revenue is down on the same period in the prior year, reflecting discontinued activities as a result of planned disposals and the expected decline in legacy publishing as we continue to transition from print to digital.  However, contribution is in line with expectations and prior year.

Accountancy: As previously highlighted at the time of the full year results in September 2013, we are seeing some constraint to revenue with a decline in training revenues during the seasonally quieter first quarter.  This is also reflected in the division's overall contribution due to the operational gearing of the business. We continue to invest in technical and marketing support for accountancy firms including a new responsive web platform which was launched during the period.

The Group's cash position remains robust.  Net debt as at 30 September was £39.2m reflecting the acquisition of Compliance Week for £7.2m which was offset by the Group's continued strong cash generation.  On 30 October 2013 a surplus freehold property was sold for £700,000 in cash and will be used to further reduce the Group's net indebtedness.

Outlook

At the end of the first quarter the financial performance is on track to support our expectations for the full year.  July and August are typically the quietest trading months for most of the Group's businesses, the exception is AMT which delivers a significant proportion of its annual profit contribution during the first quarter. The overall trading background has not changed significantly since the full year 2013 results announcement except Legal which has had a poor end to the Legal CPD year.

The Group continues to invest in new technology and product development with a focus on delivering our anticipated returns from recent strategic acquisitions.

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For further information, please contact:

Wilmington Group Plc   Charles Brady, Chief Executive Tony Foye, Finance Director FTI Consulting Charles Palmer

020 7422 6800 020 7831 3113

Notes to Editors

Wilmington Group plc is one of the UK's leading providers of Information, Compliance and Education for professional business markets. The Group provides business intelligence, information, training, education, events and support services for a variety of markets including the accountancy, banking, charities, financial services, healthcare, insurance, legal, and pensions sectors. Capitalised at approximately £183 million, Wilmington floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1995.

 

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