15th Mar 2007 07:01
Centaur Media PLC15 March 2007 March 15th 2007 Centaur Media plc interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2006 Highlights Centaur Media plc ("Centaur") announces its results for the six months ended 31December 2006. 6 months ended 6 months ended 31 December 31 December 2006 2005 Movement---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- £m £m Revenue 37.7 33.8 12% Adjusted EBITDA (1) 5.6 4.1 37%Adjusted EBITDA margin 15% 12% Adjusted profit before tax (2) 4.2 2.9 45%Profit before tax 3.8 4.9 (22)% Adjusted basic EPS (pence) (3) 2.2 1.3 69%Basic EPS (pence) 2.0 2.7 (26)% Cash conversion rate (4) 95% 154% Net cash 4.2 7.9 Interim dividend per share (pence) 1.0 0.6 67% • 12% growth in Group revenue, led by advertising up 19%, due to impact of acquisitions, increasing strength of online products and Legal & Financial division. • High operational gearing supports adjusted EBITDA margin improvement by 3 percentage points to 15%. • Revenue growth leads to adjusted profit before tax ahead by 45% and adjusted EPS ahead by 69%. • High levels of new product development activity since June 2006 including 5 new events, 9 new online channels, the launch of Web TV and the announcement of a joint venture with YouGov. • Interim dividend of 1.0 pence per share proposed. Geoff Wilmot, Chief Executive Officer of Centaur Media plc, said: "The resultsin the first half show further year-on-year growth, reflecting the success ofour strategy of creating market-leading products across a range of marketsectors. The outlook for the second half is positive and we remain confidentabout the outcome for the full year to 30 June 2007." Enquiries:Centaur Media plc Geoff Wilmot, CEO Tel: 020 7970 4000 Mike Lally, GFD Gavin Anderson & Company Richard Constant Tel: 020 7554 1400 Robert Speed Janine Brewis www.centaur.co.uk Notes: 1. One of Centaur's key measures of profit, which is used to measure the relative performance of divisional units of the Group, is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, excluding exceptionals and other significant non-cash items (Adjusted EBITDA). 2. Adjusted PBT is profit before tax, excluding the impact of amortisation of acquired intangibles and of exceptional items. 3. Adjusted EPS is based on the basic EPS but after making adjustments for amortisation of acquired intangibles and exceptional items as detailed in note 4 to the interim report. 4. Cash conversion rate is free cash flow expressed as a percentage of adjusted operating profit. Free cash flow is defined as cash generated from operations (note 7 to the interim report), less capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment and software. Adjusted operating profit is operating profit after making adjustments for amortisation of acquired intangibles and exceptional items. Interim Business Review Introduction I am pleased to announce that Centaur achieved further impressive growth in bothturnover and adjusted profit before tax in the six months to 31 December 2006.In what is seasonally Centaur's weaker half of the year (due to the low levelsof publishing and event activity in August and December) revenue grew 12% to£37.7 million and adjusted profit before tax increased by 45% to £4.2 million(FY2006: £2.9 million). Reported profit before tax was £3.8 million (FY2006: £4.9 million). TheCompany's results for the six months ended 31 December 2005 included anexceptional gain of £2.0 million arising from the release of a provision forcontingent consideration relating to the acquisition of Synergy SoftwareSolutions Ltd. In addition, in the current period the Company reportedamortisation of acquired intangibles of £0.4 million (FY2006: £nil). The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.0p per share (2006: 0.6p). Theinterim dividend will be paid on 20 April 2007 to shareholders on the shareregister at 23 March 2007. Business Overview Centaur benefits from a strong presence in a number of high-value verticalmarket sectors, in which it pursues its strategy of building market leadingpositions through multiple media platforms. During the period, it has continuedto experience growth in a number of these sectors, shown by the analysis ofresults set out at the end of this business review. Advertising remains the principal source of revenue, generating 59% of revenuesduring the first half. Overall advertising revenues grew 19% in the period, ledby the impact of acquisitions in the previous financial year and by the strengthin online advertising. Recruitment and other advertising, principally display,both recorded solid growth in the period. Total revenues from online products grew 30%, reflecting the continued stronggrowth in internet advertising, particularly online recruitment, which increasedby 41% year on year, supplementing a relatively robust recruitment performancein the magazines. Events revenues declined by 8%, largely due to the highlysuccessful Mortgage Strategy Summit moving to April 2007 in Dubai in order toaccommodate significant growth. Centaur has a strong record of organic growth, with most of its currentportfolio having been launched rather than acquired. During the period, our newdevelopments included four new websites. These new websites are now trading ator above break-even and are expected to make a significant contribution in themedium term. The most important of these are marketingweek.co.uk anddesignweek.co.uk. These two websites will build on the strength of their relatedmagazine brands and will enable us to extend our service offering to theseimportant communities. The pace of new business activity has increased since the period end. In January2007 we launched a new monthly magazine, Mortgage Distributor, part of theMortgage Strategy portfolio. We launched the title alongside a new event, thePackager Summit, which ran successfully in Nice in January. Both products areexpected to make a positive profit contribution in this financial year. Also inJanuary, we launched The Lawyer HR awards, which has further cemented ourrelationship with our core law firm clients and key sponsors. The event made asmall positive contribution. We have also launched a series of important podcast and web TV services inseveral of our online products, which we believe will generate good growth inthe medium term. During January, we also launched Headline Property ("HP"), anextension of our highly successful news service for financial journalists,Headline Money. HP will perform a similar service for professional propertyjournalists. January also saw the launch of the Marketing Week InteractiveSummit, a successful and profitable new conference and workshop-based eventdesigned to equip senior marketers to develop effective digital strategies. In the last month we have agreed to partner with Dnata World of Events, aleading events and travel management business based in Dubai and part of theEmirates Group. The joint venture's first initiative will be a Dubai edition ofthe successful Business Travel show, which will be staged in October 2007.Planning for other shows with Dnata will commence in the next few months. We have also just announced a joint venture with the leading online researchbusiness YouGov. The joint venture, YouGovCentaur Ltd, will establish specialistonline research panels in each of Centaur's vertical markets. These will be usedto create customised and syndicated research-based products for our coremarkets. Two such projects are already underway. This is an exciting new venturethat strongly supports our strategic goal of increasing the proportion of ourrevenues derived from content. Review of Divisional Results We continue to report our results in five major operating business segments.These are Legal & Financial; Marketing, Creative & New Media; Construction &Engineering; Perfect Information and General Business Services (formerly Other). Legal & Financial Revenues grew 15% in the period compared with the corresponding period in 2005and this led to adjusted EBITDA margins rising to 28% (2005: 26%). Thisdivision's target markets - lawyers and IFA's - remained strong, benefiting themajor established brands in this division. In the financial sector, MortgageStrategy and Headline Money in particular delivered rapid growth in turnover andprofits. In the legal sector, The Lawyer magazine and thelawyer.com deliveredfurther strong growth to new record levels, reflecting the strength of themarket and the growing value of The Lawyer brand. Revenue growth in the divisionwas advertising-driven, with recruitment ahead by 25% and other advertising up18%. Marketing, Creative & New Media Revenues declined 4% on the corresponding period in 2005 but earlier costsavings led to adjusted EBITDA margins improving to 9% (2005: 8%). Ongoingweakness in the media, retail and consumer goods sectors continued to have anadverse impact on the marketing and creative division, although market shareswere broadly stable in the period. Marketingweek.co.uk and designweek.co.uk wereboth successfully launched, partly offsetting the overall revenue decline. Bothwebsites traded close to break-even in the period and are now generating a smallprofit. There are some signs of an improving outlook for the sector, includingrecruitment revenues growing 7% in the period and good growth in the interactivemarketing area, with New Media Age strongly ahead and a successful launch of theInteractive Marketing Summit referred to above. Looking forward, the latestquarterly Bellwether Report (published by the Institute of Practitioners inAdvertising in January 2007), which is an important forward indicator ofactivity in the marketing services sector, reported that new budget-setting for2007-08 marketing budgets was at its most buoyant level for seven years. Engineering & Construction Revenues grew 41% helped by the impact of recent bolt-on acquisitions. AdjustedEBITDA margins remained unchanged at 17% reflecting the impact of lower marginscurrently being achieved on the recent new launch, Move or Improve. Theengineering sector remains challenging but The Engineer and its associatedwebsite continued to deliver satisfactory growth. In Construction, theself-build market showed modest improvement, though the DIY market remainedchallenging. Nevertheless, Homebuilding & Renovating and its extensions,especially the regional shows, delivered further healthy growth, whilst thenewly launched Move or Improve recorded an improved profit in the period. PeriodLiving, acquired in February 2006, performed well in the period, in line withexpectations. Perfect Information Revenues were flat but adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 23% (2005: 20%). Theunderlying market remained favourable, but growth in the core filings productwas offset by continued declines in revenues from non-core services acquiredwith the Synergy acquisition. Perfect Analysis' Excel add-in was successfullylaunched in early February 2007, after an extensive period of testing. It iscurrently being trialled by several existing and prospective new clients. On thefilings side, we have recommenced development activity previously deferred dueto the focus of our development resources on Perfect Analysis. We have recentlylaunched a unique new database of collateralised debt obligations and animproved SEC filings product. These and other planned initiatives are expectedto support renewed growth in revenues in the next few months. We have alsoidentified cost savings that should positively impact on the second half. General Business Services Revenues grew 10% in the period, and adjusted EBITDA losses reduced to £0.6million (2005: £0.9 million loss). Growth was led by The Recruiter, which weacquired in December 2005, which performed well, in line with expectations. TheEmployee Benefits portfolio experienced a decline in revenues due to a loss ofadvertising relating to the home computing initiative, the tax benefit of whichwas discontinued a year ago. However, we expect to recover some of thisshortfall in the second half. Business Travel Germany performed well inSeptember, as did the main London show which has just taken place in February2007. The logistics portfolio also grew steadily and we relaunched the monthlytitle Logistics Europe under the brand Supply Chain Standard in January. It hasmoved into profit in the second half, after making a small loss in the interimperiod. As previously announced, we sold the loss-making Televisual magazine toits former publisher in August 2006. During the period, we also discontinuedpublication of Finance Week. We entered into an agreement with Sift Media Ltd,publishers of Accountingweb, who are continuing to publish Finance Week as partof that business. Centaur will share advertising revenues with Sift and willdeliver events for the Finance Week community. Management changes As we reported last autumn, Geoff Wilmot (former CFO) was appointed ChiefExecutive Officer of the Company on 1st November 2006. Graham Sherren remains asChairman. Mike Lally (former Finance Director) joined the board as Group FinanceDirector. Current trading & outlook The overall outlook for the second half is positive and we expect further yearon year growth in revenues and profits in the six months to June 2007. Mostparts of the business are currently trading comfortably ahead of last year. Witha strong pipeline of new products and further growth in our establishedbusiness, we are confident of a positive outcome for the full year. Geoff Wilmot, Chief Executive Officer Analysis of results Six months to Six months to 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 Adjusted Adjusted Turnover EBITDA Turnover EBITDA ----------------------------------------------------- £m £m £m £mBy DivisionLegal and Financial 11.6 3.2 10.1 2.6Marketing, Creative and New Media 10.2 0.9 10.6 0.8Construction and Engineering 8.3 1.4 5.9 1.0Perfect Information 3.0 0.7 3.0 0.6General Business Services 4.6 (0.6) 4.2 (0.9)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37.7 5.6 33.8 4.1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By SourceRecruitment advertising 6.7 - 5.4 -Other advertising 15.7 - 13.4 -Circulation Revenue 3.2 - 2.6 -Online subscriptions 3.7 - 3.6 -Events 7.8 - 8.5 -Other 0.6 - 0.3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37.7 - 33.8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Client TypeAudiences 9.5 - 8.4 -Marketers 28.2 - 25.4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37.7 - 33.8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Product TypeMagazines 21.8 3.9 18.6 2.1Events 7.8 0.8 8.5 1.0Online products 7.3 1.0 5.6 0.9Other 0.8 (0.1) 1.1 0.1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37.7 5.6 33.8 4.1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UnderlyingUnderlying 34.8 5.3 33.2 4.2Acquisitions (1) 2.9 0.3 0.6 (0.1)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total 37.7 5.6 33.8 4.1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By MaturityNew (2) 3.6 (1.1) 5.2 (0.7)Existing and acquired 34.1 6.7 28.6 4.8--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total 37.7 5.6 33.8 4.1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Acquisitions are defined as those made within the current or preceding financial year. 2. New products are defined as any product launched in the current and two preceding financial years. Independent Review Report to Centaur Media plc Introduction We have been instructed by the company to review the financial information forthe six months ended 31 December 2006 which comprises the consolidated interimbalance sheet and statement of changes in shareholders' equity as at 31 December2006 and the related consolidated interim statements of income and cash flowsfor the six months then ended and related notes. We have read the otherinformation contained in the interim report and considered whether it containsany apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the financialinformation. Directors' responsibilities The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, isthe responsibility of, and has been approved by the directors. The Listing Rulesof the Financial Services Authority require that the accounting policies andpresentation applied to the interim figures should be consistent with thoseapplied in preparing the preceding annual accounts, except where any changes andthe reasons for them are disclosed. This interim report has been prepared in accordance with the basis set out in"Basis of Preparation" below. Review work performed We conducted our review in accordance with guidance contained in Bulletin 1999/4issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A reviewconsists principally of making enquiries of group management and applyinganalytical procedures to the financial information and underlying financial dataand, based thereon, assessing whether the disclosed accounting policies havebeen applied. A review excludes audit procedures such as tests of controls andverification of assets, liabilities and transactions. It is substantially lessin scope than an audit and therefore provides a lower level of assurance.Accordingly we do not express an audit opinion on the financial information.This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only for thecompany for the purpose of the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authorityand for no other purpose. We do not, in producing this report, accept or assumeresponsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this reportis shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by ourprior consent in writing. Review conclusion On the basis of our review we are not aware of any material modifications thatshould be made to the financial information as presented for the six monthsended 31 December 2006. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPChartered AccountantsLondon 14 March 2007 Notes: (a) The maintenance and integrity of the Centaur Media plc web site is the responsibility of the directors; the work carried out by the auditors does not involve consideration of these matters and, accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the interim report since it was initially presented on the website. (b) Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial information may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. Consolidated income statement for the 6 months ended 31 December 2006 Unaudited Unaudited Audited year 6 months ended 6 months ended ended 31 December 31 December 30 June 2006 2005 2006 Notes £m £m £m Revenue 1 37.7 33.8 82.3 Cost of sales (20.3) (18.6) (42.8)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross profit 17.4 15.2 39.5 Distribution costs (2.2) (2.1) (4.5)Administrative expenses (11.5) (8.5) (20.3)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted EBITDA 1 5.6 4.1 15.7 Depreciation of property, plant and equipment (0.4) (0.3) (0.7)Amortisation of software (0.9) (1.0) (1.8)Amortisation of acquired intangibles (0.4) - (0.3)Share-based payments (0.2) (0.2) (0.4)Exceptional administrative credit 5 - 2.0 2.2---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating profit 3.7 4.6 14.7 Interest receivable 0.1 0.2 0.3Share of post tax profit from associate - 0.1 0.1---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit before tax 3.8 4.9 15.1 Taxation 2 (0.8) (0.9) (3.7)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit for the period 3.0 4.0 11.4---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Earnings per share - Basic 4 2.0p 2.7p 7.6p- Fully diluted 4 2.0p 2.7p 7.6p---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consolidated balance sheet at 31 December 2006 Unaudited Unaudited Audited 31 December 31 December 30 June 2006 2005 2006 ------------------------------------------------- Notes £m £m £m AssetsNon-current assetsGoodwill 142.0 138.3 142.0Other intangible assets 12.6 8.3 13.1Property, plant and equipment 2.5 2.2 2.5Investments accounted for using equity method 0.3 0.3 0.3Deferred tax assets 1.6 0.5 1.6------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 159.0 149.6 159.5------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Current assetsInventories 2.7 1.9 1.5Trade and other receivables 17.5 14.5 18.7Cash and cash equivalents 5.4 10.2 7.8------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 25.6 26.6 28.0------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LiabilitiesCurrent liabilitiesFinancial liabilities - borrowings 1.2 2.3 1.6Trade and other payables 8.8 8.3 11.3Deferred income 13.5 12.9 10.5Current tax liabilities 0.9 - 2.6Provisions - - 0.6------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 24.4 23.5 26.6------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net current assets 1.2 3.1 1.4------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Non-current liabilitiesDeferred tax liabilities 1.1 1.1 1.1Provisions 1.9 0.5 1.9------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.0 1.6 3.0------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net assets 157.2 151.1 157.9------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shareholders' equityOrdinary shares 14.5 14.9 14.9Share premium 0.3 0.3 0.3Other reserves 2.7 2.2 2.4Retained earnings 139.7 133.7 140.3------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total shareholders' equity 6 157.2 151.1 157.9------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The interim financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 14March 2007 and were signed on its behalf by M LallyDirector Consolidated cash flow statement for the 6 months ended 31 December 2006 Unaudited Unaudited Audited 6 months ended 6 months ended year ended 31 December 31 December 30 June 2006 2005 2006 --------------------------------------------------- Notes £m £m £m Cash flows from operating activities Cash generated from operations 7 5.2 5.2 14.4Tax paid (2.6) (0.6) (1.8)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net cash from operating activities 2.6 4.6 12.6---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash flows from investing activities Interest received 0.1 0.2 0.3Acquisition of subsidiaries (net of cash acquired) 0.9 - (4.8)Proceeds from the sale of subsidiary - 0.4 0.4Purchase of property, plant and equipment (0.4) (0.4) (1.0)Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment - - -Purchase of intangible assets (1.2) (5.1) (8.6)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash used in investing activities (0.6) (4.9) (13.7)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash flows from financing activities Treasury shares (0.4) - -Repayment of loan notes (0.4) (0.2) (0.9)Dividends paid to shareholders (3.6) (1.8) (2.7)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash used in financing activities (4.4) (2.0) (3.6)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (2.4) (2.3) (4.7) Cash and cash equivalents at 1 July 7.8 12.5 12.5----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cash and cash equivalents 5.4 10.2 7.8---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interim financial statements for the 6 months ended 31 December 2006 Basis of preparation These interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance withInternational Financial Reporting Standards and with those parts of theCompanies Act 1985 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS. The financialstatements have been prepared under the historical cost convention in accordancewith the accounting policies the Group expects to be applicable at 30 June 2007. The IFRS's and interpretations issued by both the Standing InterpretationsCommittee and the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee("IFRIC") that will be applicable at 30 June 2007, including those that will beapplicable on an optional basis, are not known with certainty at the time ofpreparing these interim financial statements. These figures may thereforerequire amendment to change the basis of accounting or presentation of certainfinancial information, before their inclusion in the IFRS financial statementsfor the year ending 30 June 2007. As permitted, the interim financial statements have been prepared in accordancewith the UK listing rules and not in accordance with IAS 34 "Interim FinancialReporting". These interim financial statements are unaudited and do not constitute statutoryaccounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. Additional presentation within the consolidated income statement The Group has presented separately on the face of the consolidated incomestatement an additional profit measure of adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA isearnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and excludingexceptionals and other significant non-cash items. This presentation has beenprovided as the Directors believe that this measure reflects more clearly theongoing operations of the Group. In 2006 and 2005, share based payment costshave been treated as a significant non-cash item. Notes to the interim financial statements for the 6 months 31 December 2006 1. Segmental reporting Primary reporting format - business segments The group is organised into five main business segments. The General Business Services segment was formerly named Other. Six months ended 31 Marketing, Construction General December 2006 Legal and Creative and and Perfect Business Financial New Media Engineering Information Services Unallocated Group £m £m £m £m £m £m £m-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue 10.2 11.6 8.3 3.0 4.6 37.7-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted EBITDA 3.2 0.9 1.4 0.7 (0.6) 5.6Depreciation of property, plant and equipment (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) - - (0.4)Amortisation of software (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) (0.4) (0.2) - (0.9)Amortisation of acquired intangibles (0.1) - (0.2) (0.1) - - (0.4)Share based payments - - - - - (0.2) (0.2)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Segment result 2.9 0.7 1.0 0.1 (0.8) (0.2) 3.7 Interest receivable - - - - - 0.1 0.1Share of post tax profit from associate - - - - - - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit before tax 2.9 0.7 1.0 0.1 ( 0.8) (0.1) 3.8 Taxation - - - - - (0.8) (0.8)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit for the period 2.9 0.7 1.0 0.1 (0.8) (0.9) 3.0-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Segmental reporting (continued) Six months ended 31 Marketing, Construction General December 2005 Legal and Creative and and Perfect Business Financial New Media Engineering Information Services Unallocated Group £m £m £m £m £m £m £m-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue 10.1 10.6 5.9 3.0 4.2 - 33.8-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted EBITDA 2.6 0.8 1.0 0.6 (0.9) - 4.1Depreciation of property, plant and equipment (0.1) (0.1) - (0.1) - - (0.3)Amortisation of software (0.2) (0.2) (0.1) (0.4) (0.1) - (1.0)Share based payments - - - - - (0.2) (0.2)Exceptional administrative credit - - - 2.0 - - 2.0-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Segment result 2.3 0.5 0.9 2.1 (1.0) (0.2) 4.6 Interest receivable - - - - - 0.2 0.2Share of post tax profit from associate 0.1 - - - - - 0.1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit before tax 2.4 0.5 0.9 2.1 (1.0) - 4.9 Taxation - - - - - (0.9) (0.9)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit for the period 2.4 0.5 0.9 2.1 (1.0) (0.9) 4.0-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Taxation The tax assessed for the period is lower (2005: lower) than the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK (30%). The differences are explained below: 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 31 December 31 December 30 June 2006 2005 2006 £m £m £m ---------------------------------------------- Profit before tax 3.8 4.9 15.1 Profit before tax multiplied by standard rate ofcorporation tax in the UK of 30% (2005: 30%) 1.1 1.5 4.5 Effects of: Non taxable release of deferred consideration provision - (0.6) (0.8)Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 0.1 - 0.2Deferred tax credit on share based payments taken -to income statement (0.4) (0.1)Adjustments to tax charge in respect of previous periods - - (0.1)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total taxation 0.8 0.9 3.7-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Dividends An interim dividend of 1p (2005: 0.6p) per 10p ordinary share is proposed. This amounts to £1,491,045 (2005: £896,000) and will be paid on 20 April 2007 to all shareholders on the register as at 23 March 2007. 4. Earnings per share The calculations of earnings per share are based on the following profits andnumbers of shares: 6 months to 31 December 2006 6 months to 31 December 2005 Weighted Weighted average no. Per-share average no. Per-share Earnings of shares amount Earnings of shares amount ------------------------------------------------------------------ £m millions pence £m millions PenceBasic EPSEarnings attributable to ordinary shareholders 3.0 149.1 2.0 4.0 149.3 2.7 Effect of dilutive securitiesOptions - 1.7 - - 0.5 -Contingent shares - 0.4 - - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diluted basic EPS 3.0 151.2 2.0 4.0 149.8 2.7 Adjusted EPSEarnings attributable to ordinary shareholders 3.0 149.1 2.0 4.0 149.3 2.7Amortisation of brands and publishing rights 0.4 - 0.3 - - -Exceptional administrative credit - - - (2.0) - (1.4)Tax effect (0.1) - (0.1) - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted profit for the period 3.3 149.1 2.2 2.0 149.3 1.3 Effect of dilutive securitiesOptions - 1.7 - - 0.5 -Contingent shares - 0.4 - - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diluted adjusted EPS 3.3 151.2 2.2 2.0 149.8 1.3--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shares held in an employee benefit trust have been excluded in arriving at theweighted average number of shares. 5. Exceptional administrative credit In the six month period to 31 December 2005 the exceptional credit of £2.0million related to the release of a provision for deferred consideration payableto the previous shareholders of the Synergy group. During the year to 30 June 2006 the exceptional credit of £2.5 million relatedto the release of the full provision for deferred consideration payable to theprevious shareholders of the Synergy group. Also, during the year to 30 June2006 shares were issued to a minority interest in a subsidiary, PerfectInformation Limited, reducing Centaur's interest in this company and itssubsidiaries (the "PI group") by 3.94%. This has resulted in a reduction ofCentaur's share of the goodwill relating to the PI group and a charge to theincome statement of £0.3m. 6. Statement of changes in shareholders' equity 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 31 December 31 December 30 June 2006 2005 2006 £m £m £m ----------------------------------------------- At 1 July 157.9 148.6 148.6 Treasury shares purchased (0.4) - -Share options - value of employee services 0.2 0.2 0.4Deferred tax taken directly to equity 0.1 0.1 0.2Profit for the period 3.0 4.0 11.4Dividends (3.6) (1.8) (2.7)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------At 31 December 157.2 151.1 157.9------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Cash flow from operating activities Cash generated from operations 6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended 31 December 31 December 2005 30 June 2006 2006 £m £m £m ----------------------------------------------- Profit for the period 3.0 4.0 11.4 Adjustments for:Tax 0.8 0.9 3.7Depreciation 0.4 0.3 0.7Loss on disposal of goodwill - - 0.3Amortisation of intangibles 1.3 1.0 2.1Interest income (0.1) (0.2) (0.3)Share of associates' profit - (0.1) (0.1)Share option charge 0.2 0.2 0.4 Changes in working capital (excluding effectsof acquisitions and disposals ofsubsidiaries)Increase in inventories (1.1) (0.6) (0.2)Decrease / (increase) in trade and other receivables 0.1 1.0 (2.0)Increase in payables 0.6 0.7 0.9Decrease in provisions - (2.0) (2.5)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cash generated from operations 5.2 5.2 14.4-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Centaur