newsbox.ch/ Informa plc: Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 30 June 2010

27th Jul 2010 07:01

Access to "Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 30 June 2010", full/complete HTML version: http://e1.marco.ch/publish/informa/911fd00a/informa_plc__interim_results_for_the _six_months_ended_30_june_2010.145-124-226 5.html TIDM: INF Informa plc: Interim Results for the Six Months Ended 30 June 2010 Key Highlights Financial · Profit increased - adjusted operating profit growth of 4.2%; 5.6% on an organic basis · Margin increased - adjusted operating margin 24.5% (2009 H1: 23.0%) · Statutory profit before tax of GBP66.4m (2009 H1: GBP32.1m) · Earnings increased - adjusted diluted earnings per share up 3% to 16.7p (2009 H1:16.2p) · Highly cash generative business - net debt/EBITDA ratio1 of 2.7 times · Dividend increased - growth of 25% in interim dividend to 4.5p (2009 H1: 3.6p) Operational · Publishing revenues remain resilient - subscription income maintained at 67% · Proportion of publishing revenues delivered in digital format increased to 75% · Academic - strong start to the year assisted by e-book sales · Professional and Commercial - solid result; however reduction in financial data subscriptions · Events and Training - exhibitions remain strong; improving trends in delegate numbers and sponsorship; corporate training starting to recover · Business continuing to benefit from the cost reduction programmes in 2008 and 2009 Financial Highlights +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ | |2010 |2009 |Actual |Organic | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ | |GBPm |GBPm |% |% | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Revenue |624.0 |636.3 |(2) |(0.5) | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Operating |85.7 |61.1 |40 | | |Profit | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Adjusted |152.7 |146.6 |4 |5.6 | |Operating | | | | | |Profit2 | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Operating |98.7 |114.6 |(14) | | |cashflow3 | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Adjusted |65 |78 |(17) | | |cash | | | | | |conversion4| | | | | |(%) | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Profit |66.4 |32.1 |107 | | |before tax | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Adjusted |133.4 |117.6 |13 | | |profit | | | | | |before tax2| | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Profit for |48.3 |23.0 |110 | | |period | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Adjusted |100.0 |84.8 |18 | | |profit for | | | | | |period5 | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Basic |8.1 |4.4 |84 | | |earnings | | | | | |per share | | | | | |(p) | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Diluted |8.1 |4.4 |84 | | |earnings | | | | | |per share | | | | | |(p) | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Adjusted |16.7 |16.2 |3 | | |diluted | | | | | |earnings | | | | | |per share | | | | | |(p) | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Dividend |4.5 |3.6 |25 | | |per share | | | | | |(p) | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Free cash |47.4 |69.0 |(31) | | |flow6 | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ |Net debt7 |905.7 |984.5 |(8) | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ | | | | | | +-----------+------+------+-------+--------+ Note: In this document 'organic' refers to results adjusted for material acquisitions and disposals and the effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. 1. Net debt/EBITDA ratio is calculated using EBITDA for the year ended 30 June 2010. 2. Excludes adjusting items of GBP67.0m (2009 H1: GBP85.5m) per Note 5. 3. Operating cash flow as defined in the Financial Review. 4. Operating cash flow divided by adjusted operating profit. 5. Excludes adjusting items of GBP67.0m (2009 H1: GBP85.5m) per Note 5 and related tax credit of GBP15.3m (2009 H1: GBP23.7m). 6. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less cash flows in respect of adjusting items, net interest and taxation. 7. Net debt as calculated in Note 12. Commenting on the first half results and future prospects, Peter Rigby, Chief Executive, said: "We are pleased with the positive start we have made to the year which shows the strength of our balanced business model, where stable publishing and information revenues complement our more cyclical, operationally geared events and training business. The quality of our business model, a good start to the year, the Board's confidence in the Group's prospects and its inherently strong cash flow underpin the Board's decision to increase the dividend by 25% The economic recovery continues to be uneven both in terms of region and vertical sector. 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. While we remain cautious about the economic recovery, we are confident in the resilience, diversity and flexibility of our model and the steps we are taking to improve the business. The steady move towards greater digital delivery of content is further improving the quality of our earnings. We are making good progress in providing clients with a more integrated content offering and we continue to expand in emerging markets. At the same time, the amount of product development and innovation is gathering pace within the business. Informa is well placed to benefit from a sustained economic recovery and we remain in line with our expectations for the full year." Enquiries Informa plc +----------+-------------+ |Peter |+44 (0) 207 | |Rigby, |017 4301 | |Chief |(today) | |Executive | | +----------+-------------+ | |+41 (0) 41 | | |444 1341 | | |(thereafter) | +----------+-------------+ |Adam |+44 (0) 207 | |Walker, |017 4301 | |Finance |(today) | |Director | | +----------+-------------+ | |+41 (0) 41 | | |444 1342 | | |(thereafter) | +----------+-------------+ |James |+44 (0) 20 | |Gareh, |7017 4301 | |Investor | | |Relations | | +----------+-------------+ | | | +----------+-------------+ |Maitland | | +----------+-------------+ |Philip |+44 (0) 20 | |Gawith |7379 5151 | | | | |George | | |Trefgarne | | +----------+-------------+ | | | +----------+-------------+ There will be a presentation to analysts at 9.30am on 27 July 2010 which will be held at the Auditorium, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Financial Centre, 2 King Edward Street, London, EC1A 1HQ. A simultaneous webcast of the analysts' presentation will be available via the Company's website at www.informa.com. Note to editors Informa plc is a leading international provider of specialist information and services for the academic and scientific, professional and commercial business communities. Informa has some 150 offices in over 40 countries and employs more than 8,000 staff around the world. Informa is the largest publicly-owned organiser of conference and courses in the world with an output of around 7,500 events annually. Informa publishes over 2,100 subscription-based information services including academic journals, real-time news and structured databases of commercial intelligence. Informa's book business has more than 75,000 academic and business titles. Business Review Informa plc ("Informa" or "the Group") is pleased to announce interim results for the six months to 30 June 2010. Whilst Group revenues on an organic basis marginally declined by 0.5%, adjusted operating profits grew by 5.6%. The Group's adjusted operating margin therefore increased to 24.5% (2009: 23.0%). Adjusted diluted earnings per share grew by 3% to 16.7p. Given the strength of our free cash flow and our confidence about future prospects, the Board has changed the dividend policy from three to two and a half times cover. Consequently, we have declared a 25% increase in the first interim dividend to 4.5p (2009: 3.6p). The Group has made a good start to the year. Our publishing businesses account for just over half of the Group's revenue and almost two thirds of its adjusted operating profits. Overall, 67% of our publishing revenues are subscription based and 75% are delivered digitally. Academic Information ("AI") has had a strong first half with high renewal rates and a further increase in margin. Professional and Commercial Information ("PCI"), as expected, was held back a (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires July 27, 2010 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)