Informa says sterling strength is having 'significant' effect

15th May 2014 08:55

The strength of sterling continued to have a 'significant effect' on revenue and profit, Informa has revealed. In its interim management statement released Thursday, the FTSE 250-listed conference and publishing group said that although in the first four months of the year the group delivered organic revenue growth of 0.6%, at a reported level the strength of sterling against the US dollar meant that every one cent movement affected revenue by around £3.2m and adjusted operating profit by around £1.4m. It also cautioned its investors that trading remained challenging in its Business Intelligence unit, although the group's outlook for the year was unchanged. The unit saw organic revenue slide 5.6% in the four-month period, hit by a continuation of the challenges experienced in 2013. "Key end markets remain subdued, but we also recognise the need to better understand our positioning within verticals and our core capabilities across products and platforms," it said. Turning to the positives, the group reported strong growth in its Global Events business and steady growth in Academic Publishing. Global Events delivered a 3.5% rise in organic growth, helped by the performance of its Large Event Portfolio across different sectors. It did say, however, that the year will see a number of its Large Events brands take place later in the year than in 2013, which will affect the pattern of quarterly organic growth. It also noted that some conference markets, particularly Continental Europe and Russia, "continue to dilute the overall growth profile of Global Events", but said it remains "confident on the performance of the division in 2014".Academic Publishing reported organic growth of 3.2%, and said its prospects for the year remained in line with its expectations. The share price fell 2.23% to 482.70p by 09:30. NR