The Group revealed an increase of underlying revenue by 1% for its B2B businesses. Its consumer media business, dmg media, saw an encouraging performance with underlying revenue stable and adjusted operating profit up by an underlying 5%, with MailOnline making good progress on the path to profitability, says DMGT.
As announced on 6 April 2017, Tim Collier has, with effect from 2 May 2017, been appointed Chief Financial Officer and to the board of DMGT.
Risk Management Solutions saw revenues increase by 1% on an underlying basis, despite consolidation in the re-insurance industry and was in line with expectations. A major milestone was achieved in April 2017 with the release of Risk Modeler, the second application to run on the RMS(one) risk management platform.
dmg information delivered revenues in line with last year on an underlying basis. The European business was affected by declining residential property transaction volumes in the UK, where mortgage approvals were 3% lower than the previous year. The five US-based property information businesses collectively delivered underlying revenue growth of 4%. Hobsons’ underlying revenue growth was 3% while Genscape saw continued growth with revenue increasing by 2% on an underlying basis.
dmg events revenues increased by 3% on an underlying basis, supported by the launch of new events, notably in Africa.
dmg media’s revenue was £350 million for the period, in line with the first half of the prior year on an underlying basis. The tough market conditions seen in print advertising eased somewhat, declining by an underlying 8%, compared to 12% reported at Full Year 2016. Digital advertising revenues grew by an underlying 12% and circulation revenues increased by 2%.
The Group’s first half performance has been broadly in line with expectations, says the company. Outlook for the Full Year remains unchanged other than for the underlying revenue growth rates at dmg information, which is now expected to be in the low-single digits, and dmg events, which is now expected to be in the mid-single digits.
Paul Zwillenberg, Chief Executive, commented, “We have made good progress against the three strategic priorities during this period of transition, through improving operational execution, increasing portfolio focus and enhancing financial flexibility. The Euromoney transaction was the first significant step in increasing our portfolio focus, alongside strengthening the balance sheet and enhancing our financial flexibility. We are working hard across the Group to improve operational execution and are particularly encouraged by the successful launch of Risk Modeler for RMS(one), a key milestone for the business.”
