Informa lifts profits despite lower sales

27th Jul 2010 07:38

Business publisher Informa managed to squeeze out a rise in profit in the half year to June 30 despite lower revenues as it adjusted the size of its business to levels of activity.Adjusted operating profit climbed to £152.7m from £146.6m over the same period the previous month, even as revenue slipped to £624m from £636.3m. Informa, whose range of publications include the shipping newspaper Lloyd's List, raised the interim dividend by 25% to 4.5p.'The economic recovery continues to be uneven both in terms of region and vertical sector,' said chief executive Peter Rigby. 'Against this background and alongside the proactive reduction of marginal product, the group has delivered a noticeably improved result reporting better margins and profits on stable revenues. 'Informa said it has seen a strong first half in academic publications, though professional and commercial information has been held back a little by continued weakness in the financial sector. Just over half of the company's revenues come from this area.The events and training businesses have rebounded from the decline of 2009, Informa said, adding that it has seen a recovery in most markets though the strength of the recovery varies widely. Its biggest market North America is showing signs of confidence but remains fragile.'In these circumstances, our strategy of building a geographically and vertically diverse portfolio has served us well,' Informa said. 'We have also benefited from right sizing the business over the past two years to the current level of activity and overhead. '