UPDATE: Centaur Chairman Buys Shares Amid "Important" Year Results

21st Mar 2018 13:39

LONDON (Alliance News) - Centaur Media PLC said Wednesday its chair bought shares in the firm after its 2017 loss narrowed as exceptional costs subsided and revenue rose in what it termed an "important" year and with 2018 getting off to a good start.

In 2017, pretax loss narrowed to GBP700,000 from GBP8.9 million the year prior. This was after revenue rose to GBP65.4 million from GBP59.7 million the year before.

Profit performance at Centaur - which operates business-to-business exhibitions as well as publishing digital media - was also helped by a steep fall in exceptional costs. In 2017, these costs amounted to a GBP4.4 million drag on profit compared to a GBP12.6 million cost in 2016.

On an adjusted basis - excluding exceptional costs - pretax profit was broadly flat at GBP3.7 million.

Centaur proposed a 1.5 pence per share final dividend, flat on the year before. The same was true of the full year dividend which remained at 3.0p per share.

"Centaur has changed significantly since I joined and 2017 was an important year in its transformation," Centaur Chief Executive Officer Andria Vidler said. "We have successfully reshaped the portfolio, improved the long-term quality of our revenues and reduced our exposure to advertising. We are now a business information group with a strategy that continues to leverage our audience and increase our importance to customers."

"We have had a good start to 2018, and aim to maintain this momentum through further organic growth and strategic acquisitions," Vidler added.

In a separate announcement, Centaur announced Chairman Neil Johnson acquired shares worth GBP50,000 in a transaction on Wednesday.

Johnson - chair since January - bought 100,000 shares at 50 pence each. The holding of Johnson after the buy was not disclosed.

Shares in Centaur were 1.6% lower at 48.20 pence on Wednesday.

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