Informa set for organic growth, raises £458m

17th Nov 2010 07:21

Business publisher Informa saw continuing growth and recovery in its three main divisions in the first 10 months of 2010.The company said it is trading in line with management expectations and is seeing encouraging renewals and forward bookings for next year.Academic information: Organic revenue growth targets remain in line with the board's expectations. Early indications on subscription renewals for 2011 are encouraging.Professional and commercial information: This is a business that typically recovers from an economic downturn late in the cycle; in that context, the board has been encouraged by a slight improvement in organic revenue growth since the half year, although financial services subscription renewals continue to be as tough as expected.Events and training: The conference business is continuing to show signs of recovery, particularly in those countries such as Germany and Australia where economic conditions have improved. The exhibitions business, which sees more activity in the first half of the year, has forward bookings that are 10% ahead of the level seen at the same time last year.For the group as a whole, operating cash flow remains strong, the company said, and Informa expects to end the year within its target net debt to EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) range of 2.0 to 2.5 times."We expect to deliver organic revenue growth across our core divisions in 2010 and we believe that we have the appropriate balance of businesses to continue that growth into 2011, despite the uncertain global outlook," said Peter Rigby, chief executive officer.The group also announced a loan note issue to raise $729m (£458m). The notes have been placed with US investors. The note maturities range between five and ten years, with an average duration of 8.3 years, at a weighted average interest rate of 4.3%.Proceeds from the placing will be used to pay down bank debt. "This private placement financing ahead of our core bank facility expiring in 2012 provides additional flexibility, extended maturities and diversifies our sources of funding," said Adam Walker, Informa's finance director.