Half-year figures from directories publisher Yell were accompanied by news that a new chief executive - Michael Pocock, formerly of Cisco Systems - will take the helm from 1 January. That follows last month's announcement that a new chief finance officer has joined the company - Tony Bates, Colt's former chief operating officer.
Judging by these grim-looking figures, they'll have plenty to do. The UK business, for example, saw adjusted cash profits slide 21 per cent year on year to £96m, as revenues slumped 14 per cent to £264m. The picture looks bleak at the US Yellowbook operation, too, where cash profits fell 14 per cent to $179m (£111m) and revenues dropped 12 per cent to $704m. And trading at the Spanish and Latin American unit, Yell Publicidad, is hardly encouraging as the business continues to be hit by the especially grim economic situation in Spain - cash profits at Publicidad fell 16 per cent to €60.8m (£52m).
Yell's prospects don't look great, either. With small business confidence still low - vital, given Yell's reliance on small business-driven advertising - management expects third-quarter revenue to fall by around 12 per cent. Numis Securities forecast full-year adjusted EPS of 7.3p (11.8p in 2010).
YELL (YELL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 13p | MARKET VALUE: | £307m | |
| TOUCH: | 13-13.1p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 60p | 13p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 9 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 60p* | NET DEBT: | 204% | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 982 | 38.7 | 2.8 | nil |
| 2010 | 896 | 33.2 | 0.9 | nil |
| % change | -9 | -14 | -68 | - |
*Includes intangible assets of £4.3bn, or 184p a share | ||||
