Centaur Media profit slumps 88%

17th Sep 2009 08:42

Business publisher Centaur Media revealed an 88% slump in full year pre-tax profit and slashed its dividend but says it has seen signs of stabilisation and expects revenues to return to their previous levels.Profit before tax fell to £1.7m for the year ended 30 June 2009 from £14.5m before. Sales declined 27% to £66.3m.Sales were hit by a 34% decline in advertising revenue to £33m. Sales of its publications such as The Lawyer also fell to £66m from £90m the year before.However on an upbeat note, Centaur said sales declines have slowed in the first two months of fiscal 2010 and it expects a slow return to pre-recession sales levels. The group has reduced its final dividend to 1p a share from a payment of 3p last year.