23rd May 2018 09:34
LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE 250-listed ZPG PLC said on Wednesday it won't pay an interim dividend following the GBP2.2 billion takeover offer from Silver Lake Management Co V LLC, despite rising profit and revenue in the first half of its financial year.
ZPG, which formerly known as Zoopla Property Group, which owns consumer brands focused around property, said pretax profit for the six months to the end of March rose by 31% to GBP29.5 million from GBP22.5 million for the same period the year before.
This was on revenue that grew by 33% to GBP156.9 million from GBP117.9 million. Revenue growth was driven by both its Property and Comparison segments, growing at 9% and 10%, respectively.
Comparison benefited from extreme weather conditions in the UK driving increased switching, and Property grew through contributions from several acquired businesses, including TechnicWeb, Ravensworth and Calcasa.
ZPG also said that its consumer audience also rose during the period, up by 7% to 349 million visits to the company's websites and apps, up from 326 million.
On May 11, ZPG recommended that shareholders accept the GBP2.2 billion takeover offer from Silver Lake, which valued ZPG share at 490.00 pence in cash. The acquisition is conditional on shareholder approval of no less than 75%, as well as regulatory approval from the European Commission and the Financial Conduct Authority, as well as court approval.
The deal is expected to become effective by the third quarter of 2018.
Due to the offer, ZPG will not pay a dividend for the period. For the same period the year before, ZPG paid an interim dividend of 1.9 pence per share.
"Our Property division performed well across each vertical, helped by demand for additional products, cross-sell and new contract wins, including the continued return of agents to our portals. Our Comparison division also performed well with leads up across each vertical. Energy had an exceptionally strong first half as a result of ongoing optimisation of the consumer journey and extreme weather during the Period prompting increased switching levels," said Chief Executive Officer Alex Chesterman.
"Looking ahead, we are excited about the prospect of working with Silver Lake and the opportunity this offers to our employees, consumers and partners as we move to the next stage of ZPG's development and growth," Chesterman added.
Shares in ZPG were trading up 0.1% at 489.60 pence on Wednesday.
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