According to DMGT:
DMGT has reported revenues of £922 million for the six months to 31st March, compared with £931 million for the prior half year, representing an underlying increase of 1%.
Operating profit of £150 million was down 7% on the figure for the previous half year on an underlying basis, albeit with strong performances from dmg media and dmg events. As expected, this was principally due to the reduced profits from RMS, as a result of the increased investment in RMS(one).
Commenting on the results, Martin Morgan, Chief Executive, DMGT said, "DMGT's performance in the first half was in line with our expectations. The Group has continued to deliver underlying revenue growth overall, driven by our B2B companies, and within dmg media there was a good improvement in the operating margin."
Performance Highlights:
Revenues at RMS increased by 4% on a reported basis, including the benefit of the stronger US dollar, and declined by 2% on an underlying basis. The core business's revenues were in line with last year, reflecting increased cost pressures in the reinsurance industry and the impact of consolidation within RMS's client base.
dmg information delivered good growth in the first half, albeit at a lower rate than last year, with overall underlying revenues up 6%. The US property information and energy information businesses delivered double-digit underlying revenue growth whilst there were more muted performances from the UK property information and education information businesses.
dmg events' underlying revenues increased by 13%, although reported revenues declined by 11% due to the absence of Gastech, which occurred in March 2014 and will next be held in October 2015. The two large events in the period, Big5 and ADIPEC, both performed particularly strongly with good increases in revenues and attendance volumes.
Euromoney's underlying revenues, after adjusting for the timing of events, increased by 1% with subscription revenues, which accounted for 53% of revenues, up 2%. The operating margin was adversely impacted by increased property and investment costs, as well as the disposal of Capital Data, and declined to 27%.
Underlying revenues at dmg media declined by 2% compared to the first half of the prior year. Reported revenues declined by 6%, primarily due to the disposal of dmg media's digital recruitment business, Evenbase, during 2014.
The underlying increase in digital advertising revenues across the dmg media portfolio continued to exceed the ongoing decline in print advertising revenues, with total underlying advertising revenues increasing by 2%. Circulation revenues were 4% lower due to the continued decline in circulation volumes of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.
Operating profit for the period increased by 13% to £57 million, an underlying increase of 22%, supported by previously implemented and ongoing cost measures. The reduced cost base of the Mail newspaper businesses and an increase in profits from Metro and Wowcher contributed to the increase in operating margin from 13% to 15%.
