UBM interim profit rises, sees little impact from Brexit

29th Jul 2016 09:28

(ShareCast News) - UBM reiterated its trading outlook for the full year on Friday as it posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit and said it stands to benefit from the stronger dollar.For the six months ended 30 June, pre-tax profit rose to £51.8m from £35.1m in the first half of last year as revenue increased to £380m from £351.8m.The company said it received £530.1m from the disposal of PR Newswire and £2.1m from the disposal of the Janus investment, a legacy French print magazine business.Chief executive officer Tim Cobbold said: "The sale of PRN was the final major step in the transformation of UBM into a focused events business, following which more than 80% of revenues are now generated from Events. Going forward UBM's performance will increasingly reflect the attractive characteristics of the events industry, and we continue to see high-quality acquisition opportunities to strengthen further the portfolio."Our performance in the first half was in line with our expectations and the business is well-positioned for a strong second half. Good progress continues to be made in the execution of the Events First strategy."As far as Brexit is concerned, the group said that with more than 80% of its revenues generated in the US and emerging markets and less than 10% from the UK, it expects little direct impact and a benefit from the stronger dollar. "Our trading outlook for the year remains unchanged, with further FX benefits expected." At 0935 BST, UBM shares were up 2.9% to 650p.