25th Sep 2019 12:01
(Alliance News) - Centaur Media PLC on Wednesday announced both a new dividend payment and a new returns policy, following the sale of a number of operations.
During the six months to June, Centaur sold a range of businesses for GBP21.8 million, and is now to pay a 3.5 pence interim dividend for the half. Of that, 2p is a special dividend coming from the proceeds of the sales.
During 2020, events and marketing firm Centaur will make further cash returns. From the start of the year, it will target a payout ratio of 40% of adjusted earnings, with a minimum 1p annual payout.
Looking at the half's financial performance, Centaur's revenue fell 4% to GBP24.1 million, with the pretax loss widening to GBP4.7 million from GBP3.6 million.
"Centaur is a simpler business with a portfolio of digital assets, now wholly focused on marketing services and the legal sectors. This will allow us to make a significant reduction in central overheads, reducing annualised costs by at least GBP5 million," said Chief Executive Swag Mukerji.
Centaur has also launched a "margin acceleration plan", targeting earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margins of at least 20% by 2022. The figure for the half to June was not given.
Looking ahead, the firm said its market continues to be held back by political and economic uncertainty in the UK. The second half should see a "small" profit, leading to a reduced 2019 adjusted operating loss.
Centaur shares were untraded on Wednesday morning in London, last quoted at 36.50 pence each.
By George Collard; [email protected]
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