Informa 's (INF) chief executive, Stephen Carter, said 2017 would be a year of change for the group as it enters the final year of its growth acceleration programme, a three-year strategy that will see up to £90m invested in the group. By the end of the year, the global exhibitions and academic publishing divisions are due to account for around 70 per cent of adjusted group profit, business intelligence around 20 per cent and knowledge and networking less than 10 per cent.
During the reported period, global exhibitions was the only segment to deliver organic growth in adjusted operating profit, up 14 per cent at £119m. Business intelligence and academic both shrank slightly, while knowledge and networking fell by 19 per cent.
Growth in exhibitions will be aided by the acquisition of agriculture and manufacturing-focused publisher Penton for £1.2bn, adding 35 brands to the 200-strong portfolio. This is expected to create net synergies of £14m annually, with at least half that expected in 2017. Penton chief executive Patrick Martell is moving to the US to lead the integration. Acquisition-related borrowing took the group's net debt to 2.6 times its cash profit, just above the 2-2.5 target range.
Analysts at Numis are forecasting profit before tax of £493m for 2017, giving EPS of 47.4p (from £377m and 42.1p in 2016).
INFORMA (INF) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 680p | MARKET VALUE: | £5.6bn | |
| TOUCH: | 680-680.5p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 705p | LOW: 571p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.8% | PE RATIO: | 29 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 265p* | NET DEBT: | 68% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012** | 1.11 | 70 | 14.4 | 17.0 |
| 2013** | 1.13 | 115 | 15.7 | 17.4 |
| 2014** | 1.14 | -31 | -7.9 | 17.8 |
| 2015** | 1.21 | 220 | 24.3 | 18.5 |
| 2016 | 1.35 | 178 | 23.6 | 19.3 |
| % change | +12 | -19 | -3 | +4 |
Ex-div: 27 Apr Payment: 2 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £4.48bn, or 544p a share **EPS and DPS restated for one-for-four rights issue in October 2016 | ||||
