Acquisitions and integration were again the main themes for marketing analysis company Ebiquity, as management used the proceeds from May's £2.7m placing to buy Echo for £4.6m. Despite this outlay, a reduction in exceptional costs helped deliver a 75 per cent increase in group underlying profit during the period to £2.51m – with a substantial portion of the growth being generated organically.
Marketing analytics was the driving force for Ebiquity as companies continued to work to boost the effectiveness of their advertising efforts. In practice, that means monitoring about $20bn-worth (£12.8bn) of media spending and mining useful data for companies to plan their advertising campaigns. The division's sales grew by an underlying 16 per cent to £8.77m, when the effects of acquisitions are discounted. Almost all of this growth came from overseas customers and 75 per cent of the group's total revenue is now generated abroad.
Meanwhile, sales at Platform, which offers an advertising monitoring service, were largely flat at £12.5m – reflecting the unchanged 91 per cent renewal rate there. Chief executive Michael Greenlees said the group has room to significantly grow and that recent acquisition activity is unlikely to be the last.
Edison Investment Research expects adjusted full-year pre-tax profit of £7.53m, giving EPS of 7.8p (from £4.77m and 6.3p in 2011).
EBIQUITY (EBQ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 81p | MARKET VALUE: | £45.3m | |
| TOUCH: | 78-83p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 105p | LOW: 68p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 172 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 60p* | NET DEBT: | 27% | |
| Half-year to 31 Oct | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 20.5 | -2.27 | -2.78 | nil |
| 2011 | 24.0 | 0.20 | -0.16 | nil |
| % change | +17 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: – Payment: – *Includes intangible assets of £48.1m, or 86p a share | ||||
