16th May 2019 09:33
LONDON (Alliance News) - Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC on Thursday said its pretax profit shrank considerably in the first half of its financial year due to non-repeat of a large disposal gain.
The financial magazine publisher posted pretax profit of GBP49.3 million for the six months to March 31, down 59% from GBP121.1 million after a gain on the disposal of its interest in Dealogic. Euromoney had 16% stake in software company Dealogic, which was sold in December 2017 for USD135 million.
Revenue dropped 2.2% to GBP184.9 million from GBP189.1 million after the GBP30.1 million sale of Mining Indaba in October 2018 and the conclusion of a five-year contract to run a major structured finance event.
The company declared a half-year dividend per share of 10.8 pence, up 5.9% from 10.2p the year before.
Looking ahead, Euromoney said Brexit could create "foreign exchange volatility and general business uncertainty". It expects its annual profit to be in line with board expectations.
During the period, the company acquired executive profiling business BoardEx and mergers and acquisitions data business The Deal for USD87.3 million. In addition, Daily Mail & General Trust PLC distributed its approximately 49% holding, making Euromoney fully independent.
"The first six months of the year saw a continuation of recent trends and further strategic progress for the group. The distribution of Euromoney shares previously owned by DMGT affirmed Euromoney's status as a fully independent FTSE 250 company, with a fully independent board, higher free float, increased liquidity and better access to capital. We have also continued our strategic focus on embedding our businesses in the workflow of our customers. The acquisition of BoardEx and The Deal supports our transition towards a B2B 3.0 business model," said Chief Executive Andrew Rashbass.
Shares in Euromoney were down 2.0% at 1,384.00 pence on Thursday morning.
Related Shares:
ERM.L