Headline figures don't tell the whole story for Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT). After adjusting for the disposal of Northcliffe Media at the end of 2012 and other exceptional items, underlying operating profits grew by 6 per cent to £300m.
B2B business continued to be the growth engine, providing 77 per cent of group operating profits, up from 73 per cent a year earlier. Revenue rose 6 per cent to £960m on an underlying basis, and operating profits grew 4 per cent to £232m. This figure would have been higher but for a greater proportion of group corporate costs being allocated to the B2B operation in the wake of the Northcliffe disposal. Overall, B2B margins were maintained at 24 per cent.
Revenue from consumer media fell 21 per cent to £842m and operating profits were down 17 per cent, to £68m, mainly as a result of the Northcliffe disposal. However, with a lower proportion of group costs allocated to the consumer business, underlying operating profits were up by 13 per cent. On the media side, a continued shift in viewing habits saw revenue from the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday fall 5 per cent to £562m, while revenue from the newspapers' website jumped 48 per cent to £41m.
Analysts at Numis Securities are forecasting adjusted pre-tax profits in the coming year of £285m and EPS of 53.5p (from £282m and 53p in).
| DAILY MAIL & GENERAL TRUST (DMGT) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 861p | MARKET VALUE: | £3.21bn* | |
| TOUCH: | 861-863p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 875p | LOW: 467p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.2% | PE RATIO: | 23 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 60p*^ | NET DEBT: | 170% | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2.06 | -301 | -57.4 | 14.7 |
| 2010 | 1.97 | 146 | 43.5 | 16.0 |
| 2011 | 1.75 | 126 | 29.7 | 17.0 |
| 2012 | 1.75 | 203 | 52.0 | 18.0 |
| 2013 | 1.75 | 203 | 37.4 | 19.2 |
| % change | +0 | -0 | -28 | +7 |
Ex-div: 27 Nov Payment: 7 Feb *Includes both ordinary and non-voting shares ^Includes intangible assets of £1.1bn, or 283p a share | ||||
