28th Jul 2015 13:04
LONDON (Alliance News) - Informa PLC was one of the biggest gainers in the FTSE 250 index Tuesday after it reiterated its full-year expectations, posted a rise in pretax profit for its first half, and sweetened its interim dividend.
Informa reported a pretax profit of GBP121.9 million for the half year to end-June, up from GBP100.2 million, as revenue rose to GBP618.8 million from GBP569.6 million. Revenue growth was primarily driven by the acquisitions of the Hanley Wood and Virgo exhibition business in the second half of 2014.
In Academic Publishing, revenue rose 6.2%, bolstered by acquisitions, and on an organic basis revenue rose 2.5%. Global Exhibitions revenue rose 38%, boosted by Hanley Wood, and strong performances from its major exhibitions. Growth in these divisions offset a 0.6% decline in its Business Intelligence business, and a 6.4% decline in Knowledge and Networking, hit by some disruption as a result of restructuring, and weaker markets in parts of Australasia and Europe.
The business information company proposed an interim dividend of 6.55 pence, up from 6.4 pence a year before.
Informa has been undertaking what it calls its '2014-2017 growth acceleration plan', and expects to invest between GBP30 million and GBP40 million in its current year. In total it expects to invest up to GBP90 million over the course of this plan.
The aim of the plan is to have all four of its operating divisions delivering positive organic growth as it enters 2017.
Another aspect of the plan is some shuffling of Informa's business portfolio. Following a review of its Business Intelligence segment, Informa said Monday it had sold its Datamonitor Financial, Datamonitor Consumer, MarketLine and Verdict businesses to UK-listed media company Progressive Digital Media Group PLC for GBP25.0 million.
It also sold its InsuranceIQ business, part of Informa Investment Solutions, which had a "minimal" financial impact due to the size of the business. It sold the business to life insurance firm ITM Twenty First LLC.
In its Knowledge & Networking division, Informa is putting its Continental European conference business up for sale, as it focuses on its three main geographic hubs the UK, US and Dubai.
Informa continues to expect to deliver organic growth at or ahead of the market through the remainder of 2015.
"Performance and progress in the business, combined with our International expansion is beginning to deliver results. Our strategy of measured change and our improving operational capabilities allow us to raise the interim dividend, fully fund our investment programme and commit to our growth ambitions for the full year," said Informa Chief Executive Officer Stephen Carter said in a statement Tuesday.
Numis said it remains "very comfortable" with Informa as a key pick in 2015 after its first half results beat Numis' expectations, along with market consensus. In particular Numis noted an improvement in the decline in Business Intelligence, which was down 3.5% excluding acquisitions in the half year, compared to a 6.8% drop in the first quarter.
Shares in Informa were up 7.2% at 581.50 pence Tuesday afternoon.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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