Public relations group Next Fifteen (NFC) revealed a half-year operating loss of £3.4m, against £0.51m in profits for the comparable period in 2013. The reversal was brought about by a £7m goodwill write-down on the carrying value of its UK businesses, following last year’s accounting problems at the group's Bite agency. But it shouldn’t detract from the progress Next Fifteen has made in the intervening period.
This was borne out by a 7 per cent increase in group revenues on an organic, constant-currency basis (CCS), which helped push adjusted cash profits up 45 per cent to £6.4m. Next Fifteen put in a particularly encouraging showing across the Atlantic, with CCS revenues in the US registering double-digit growth. The group, which numbers both Google and Facebook among its clients, also announced a $6.6m (£4.1m) cash deal to acquire content advertising agency Story Worldwide. With clients including Lexus and Unilever, the New York agency generated revenues of $10m in the first eight months of 2014.
We can expect more changes from the Next Fifteen business model in the months to come. Chief executive Tim Dyson and his team have been busy transitioning the group to meet the challenges posed by the rapid rise of social media.
Edison increased its EPS estimate for the 12-month period to 31 July 2015 (the group's new financial year) by 0.1p to 10.2p.
| NEXT FIFTEEN COMMUNICATIONS (NFC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 121p | MARKET VALUE: | £74m | |
| TOUCH: | 120-122p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 136p | LOW: 72p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.5% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 49p* | NET DEBT: | 5% | |
| Half-year to 31 July | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 49.4 | 0.04 | -1.4 | 1.925 † |
| 2014 | 52.2 | -4.22 | -9.1 | 2.3 |
| % change | +5 | - | - | +19 |
Ex-div: 6 Nov Payment: 5 Dec NB: Accounting reference date changed to 31 January. †Dividend for final six months of accounting year to 31 July 2013. *Includes intangible assets of £35m, or 57p a share. | ||||
