27th Aug 2014 10:07
LONDON (Alliance News) - Chime Communications PLC Wednesday remained positive in its outlook and upped its interim dividend, as its first half results were boosted by big sports events including the Winter Olympics, the FIFA World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.
The communications and sports marketing firm proposed an interim dividend of 2.53 pence, up from 2.20 pence in the previous year.
Chime Communications posted a pretax profit of GBP9.6 million, up from GBP0.6 million, as revenue rose to GBP198.5 million from GBP140.3 million in the previous year. Its Sports and Entertainment division performed well on the back of the football World Cup, which Chime said will also benefit the second half of the year.
Although the company acted for fewer clients during the first half, dropping to 1,340 clients from 1,352 in the previous year, average fee per client improved to GBP73,000, from GBP57,000, and 296 clients paid over GBP50,000 in the first half compared to 224 the year before.
Chime Communications said its emphasis in the first half has been on improving organic growth. It invested GBP400,000 in new business start ups, which it said will benefit its organic growth.
The company said that whilst the management of its working capital continues to be a key area of focus, the change in the nature of some of its client contracts, investment in major contacts, and the impact of 2013 bonuses led to higher operating expenses. It expects this to improve by the end of the year.
The company said its growth prospects for the remainder of 2014 and beyond remain good. It cited several sporting events in which it will be involved in 2015, including the Rugby World Cup and the cricket Ashes in the UK, and said it has already started contract discussions for 2016 events such as the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the UEFA European Championships in France.
However, it noted that if sterling continues to be strong against the dollar and Brazilian real in the second half of 2014, there "may need to be some adjustment".
Shares in Chime Communications were trading up 6.7% at 329.31 pence Wednesday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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