After a total revamp of the business, investors in magazine publisher and events specialist Centaur Media (CAU) will have been hoping for a solid set of interim results, and that's just what they got. Adjusting for last year's sale of financial intelligence provider Perfect Information, underlying revenues and profits were up 3 and 8 per cent respectively.
One effect of that disposal was a percentage-point reduction in the adjusted operating profit margin to 16.6 per cent. Full-year guidance is for a margin of 15 per cent, leaving management with a lot of work to do if they are to hit the ambitious 20 per cent target by 2018.
But Centaur now has the platform to do this, and the signs are that it is properly exploiting the value of its brands. Underlying revenues from paid-for content was up 11 per cent in the period, while the previously struggling financial services division boosted margins and digital advertising revenues by 88 per cent to £1.5m. Chief executive Andria Vidler's strategy of reinvigorating individual product lines by doing "a few things very well" has trained her focus on the business travel brand's live events.
Peel Hunt is forecasting full-year adjusted EPS of 5.1p on pre-tax profit of £9.3m, up from 4.7p and £8.8m in 2014.
CENTAUR MEDIA (CAU) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 77p | MARKET VALUE: | £110.6m | |
| TOUCH: | 77-78p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 84p | LOW: 56p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.6% | PE RATIO: | 27 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 62p* | NET DEBT: | 16% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 40.8 | 13.8 | 8.5 | 1.7 |
| 2015 | 36.8 | 4.2 | 2.3 | 1.5 |
| % change | -10 | -70 | -73 | -12 |
Ex-div: 10 Sep Payment: 9 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £109m, or 76p a share | ||||
