According to Euromoney Institutional Investor:
* Headline revenues ahead of last year at £406.6m
* Underlying revenues increased by 3%
* Delphi platform delivering growth and good pipeline of new products
* Adjusted profit before tax in line with last year at £116.2m
* Adjusted operating margin down 1% reflecting investment in digital strategy
* Net debt increased by £27.7m due to acquisitions and purchase of own shares
* Strong operating cash conversion and low gearing
* Final dividend increased by 2% to 16p
* First quarter trading has started in line with board’s expectations
Commenting on the results, chairman Richard Ensor said: “We have continued to invest in the business despite the difficult trading conditions. The Delphi content platform was successfully launched and the focus in 2015 will include rolling out Delphi’s functionality to Euromoney’s other titles and investing in a strong pipeline of new information services and databases, while accelerating the move to a digital-only format for most of the group’s titles by the end of 2016.
The pressures on the investment banking sector from increased regulation and compliance costs show no real sign of easing.
However, other organic growth initiatives in events and data provide confidence in the company’s longer term growth strategy, while its strong balance sheet and cash flows provide plenty of headroom for future investment and selective acquisitions.”
Highlights
Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, the international online information and events group, achieved an adjusted profit before tax of £116.2m for the year to September 30 2014, against £116.5m in 2013. Adjusted diluted earnings a share were 70.6p (2013: 71.0p). The directors recommend a 2% increase in the dividend to 16.00p, giving a total for the year of 23.00p (22.75p) to be paid to shareholders on February 12 2015.
Total revenues for the year were marginally ahead of last year at £406.6m. Underlying revenues, after adjusting for acquisitions and disposals, increased by 3% at constant currency. The underlying revenue trends reported for the first half for subscriptions and advertising largely continued into the second, while event revenue growth was driven by a combination of increased event volumes and favourable timing. The adjusted operating margin fell from 30% to 29%, reflecting the group’s continued strategic investment in digital publishing.
The new Delphi content platform was launched successfully earlier in the year and is already starting to generate benefits for businesses such as BCA and the newly launched GlobalCapital news and data service for international capital markets. The digital focus in 2015 will include rolling out Delphi’s functionality to the group’s other titles and investing in a strong pipeline of new information services and databases, while accelerating the move to a digital-only format for most of the group’s titles by the end of 2016.
Net debt at September 30 was £37.6m compared with £28.6m at March 31 and £9.9m at last year end. The increase reflects net acquisition spend of £55.7m, including £45.6m for the purchase of Mining Indaba and £12.5m for Infrastructure Journal, and £21.5m spent buying the company’s own shares to satisfy expected future rewards under its new long-term incentive plan. Underlying cash flows remain strong and there is plenty of headroom for the group to pursue its selective acquisition strategy.
