Centaur Regulatory News (CAU)

15 Nov 2007 07:01

Centaur Media PLC15 November 2007 15th November 2007 Centaur Media plc ("Centaur" or "the Group") INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT Revenues, margins and profits all ahead Strong performance under-pinned by continued organic growth -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Centaur Media plc (notes i & ii), the specialist business publishing andinformation company, today issues an interim management statement for the fourmonth period to 31st October 2007. Overall trading performance review Centaur has delivered a strong performance in the first four months of thecurrent financial year. Revenues year to date are ahead of the correspondingperiod in 2006, margins have continued to improve and profits are in line withexpectations. Group revenues over the period are approximately 5% ahead of the same period inthe prior year. Revenues from all divisional segments are trading ahead of lastyear, except for Perfect Information, due principally to the impact of PerfectAnalysis, which has now been discontinued. Revenue growth has been driven inparticular by strong results from online products and in investment communitybrands reported within the financial services division. In the four months to 31st October 2007, total advertising revenues haveincreased by around 10% compared with the same period in the prior year,reflecting a positive performance across most market sectors. The principalsources of this growth were in magazine display advertising and in onlineadvertising. Revenues from exhibitions, conferences and other events are little changed fromthe same period in the prior year, principally as a result of thediscontinuation of certain under-performing events. Also, as previouslyreported, we decided at the beginning of October to discontinue the PerfectAnalysis service, which incurred losses in the comparative period. This focus onoperational profitability across the Group has led to further improvement inEBITDA margins (note iv). New product development activity has continued through the period, including thesuccessful launch of the Business Travel Show in Dubai, (in partnership withDnata World of Events, part of the Emirates Group) with strong visitor numbersleading to a high level of re-booking for next year. Our new websites in theMarketing and Creative sector performed strongly in the period and we have anumber of other new products currently in development, which will serve tounderpin our future growth. The Group has continued to deliver a high level of cash conversion. It retainednet cash balances in excess of £3 million at the end of October, after usingcirca £6 million to purchase Centaur shares through an on-market share buy-backprogramme. As previously reported, the Company acquired 5 million Centaur sharesin the market during October, in line with the authority granted at the 2006Annual General Meeting to purchase up to 10% of shares in the Company. Theshares were bought back at an average price of 115p per share. Current trading and outlook The Board believes that its strategy of building and acquiring market-leadingmulti-platform brands serving a broad range of niche business communities willenable the Group to make further good progress in the new financial year. Ourexposure to the current credit squeeze in global capital markets, principallythrough our leading portfolio of brands associated with the weekly titleMortgage Strategy, is being offset by growth in our other markets. We believe that the current outlook for our served markets remains broadlypositive for the year ahead. The Group also has a healthy pipeline of newproducts to support future growth. In light of this, the Board remains confidentof meeting its expectations for the Group for the year ending 30th June 2008. Enquiries: Centaur Media plc Geoff Wilmot Tel: 020 7970 4000 Mike Lally Gavin Anderson & Company Robert Speed Tel: 020 7554 1400 Charlotte Stone Notes i. Centaur's product portfolio currently includes 10 weekly or fortnightly magazines, 21 other magazines, over 20 online products or services, 25 awards or other sponsored events, 20 exhibitions and 80 conferences. ii. Centaur reports its results within 5 distinct business sector segments, namely Marketing and Creative, Legal and Financial, Engineering and Construction, Perfect Information and General Business Services. The first 3 segments comprise principally the following vertical business communities in which Centaur publishes market-leading magazine titles: Marketing Services, Creative Services, New Media, Retail Financial Products, Legal Services, Engineering, Private Homebuilding. Centaur also enjoys strong positions in a number of other specialist communities, namely HR, Construction, Logistics, Recruitment and Public/Private Finance. In addition, it serves the Business Travel community with 3 leading trade shows in the UK and overseas and an associated web service. iii. Adjusted PBT is Profit Before Tax, excluding the impact of amortisation of intangibles and of exceptional items, including share-based payments. iv. Centaur's key internal measure of profit is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and excluding exceptionals (EBITDA). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange