24th Jul 2019 10:02
(Alliance News) - Bonhill Group PLC on Wednesday said it expects to report its annual results in line with market forecasts despite challenges in InvestmentNews division.
The stock was trading 12% lower in London at 62.84 pence a share.
The B2B media company said the first half of 2019 has been a period of improvement in the overall quality of our people, business activities and geographic reach.
Back in April, Bonhill bought Last Word Media for GBP20 million. In the period from April 10 to June 30, Last World traded in excess of its earn out targets, Bonhill said.
The AIM-listed company said it sees several opportunities for Last Word's products to be launched in the US and work has started with the first launch expected in 2019. As part of the integration, the majority of Bonhill UK's staff are expected to move into Last Word's offices in August.
Meanwhile, The Women in… franchise continued to grow during the period with a successful launch event of Women in IT in Singapore, Bonhill noted. New one day summits were launched in London and New York to support the awards programme for both Women in Finance and Women in IT. The company said it is looking at ways of further expanding the franchise.
Trading in the remainder of the company's businesses has, however, been more challenging, Bonhill noted, with InvestmentNews experiencing three months of difficult trading in the middle of the period, particularly in sales of its print publication.
Elsewhere, Bonhill said it continues to invest in hiring quality staff and in technology. By September, all parts of the company are expected to have been migrated onto one common technology platform.
Looking ahead, the company said it expects to see continued growth in InvestmentNews' sales in 2019, but with a different mix and a greater contribution from the growing events portfolio and custom projects and a modest decline in print.
"The investment in our people and technology platform gives us great confidence for the future," said Chief Executive Simon Stilwell.
"With continued progress at Last Word Media and the Women in… franchise, the board still anticipates that results for 2019 will be in line with market expectations reflecting acquisition timing and the trading performance of InvestmentNews," added Stilwell.
Related Shares:
BONH.L