Euromoney announces best ever results

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Friday 22 May 1998

Euromoney Publications PLC, the international publishing, training, and conference group, produced its best ever results in the six months to March 31.

Pretax profits rose from £12 million to £14.1 million. Earnings a share rose 24% to 44.26p and the interim dividend goes up from 18p to 20p. Each of these is a record.

Institutional Investor of the US, which the group acquired last August, made an excellent contribution as did Latin Finance, Adhesion, Business Traveller and legal publishing, while Euromoney and Capital Data also produced good increases. Financial problems in Asia affected profits at Asiamoney, the Asia training division, and several other areas of the group. Mondiale, where the group bought 40% last year, and which publishes Office Products International, produced good results and won the Queen's Award for Exports.

The acquisition of II has changed the sources of the group's revenues and profits. North American markets now account for nearly 40% of revenues, up from 24% last year. In profit terms, the shift is even more significant, with nearly half of Euromoney's earnings coming from North America, compared to 16% in 1997.

Group sales excluding Institutional Investor rose by 15%, in spite of the strong pound and the Asian problems. II contributed £25 million to revenues.

Margins at II rose sharply following the reorganization of II's central and other costs and all II's divisions - magazines, newsletters, conferences and journals - showed excellent increases in profits. Margins elsewhere in the group were lower because of an increased investment in subscription marketing as part of a drive to increase future years' revenues; lower sales in Asia; the inclusion of MIS as a subsidiary; and continued spending on new businesses.

Many of these new businesses are in electronic publishing, including the Euroweek internet site which was launched during the first half and which enables Euroweek subscribers worldwide to read it on the day of publication. Euromoney's site continued to grow well and contributed to first-half profits.

The group also continued to grow its electronic capital market database business and CPWare, a new service to the Euro-commercial paper market, was launched during the period and was well received. Two further databases are being developed. Database revenues grew well in the first half.

Net group debt fell from £63.5 million at the end of September to £54.1 million on March 31. The company received £5 million in total from the sale of two businesses and downward adjustments to the II purchase price. It issued 384,024 new Euromoney shares to acquire the 49% minority interests in the Latin Finance businesses. It continued to seek acquisitions, and bought Investor Access, a small multi-media publisher, for cash.

The acquisition of II has reduced the seasonality of the group's revenues and profits, but there remains a strong bias toward the second half, particularly to September.

For further information please contact:
Richard Ensor 0171 779 8844
Colin Jones 0171 779 8666
David Levin 00 1 212 224 3930