Julio Bruno recently told the BBC that the Time Out (TMO) of the 21st and 22nd Century will “be part of the fabric of the city”. But his impassioned interview – in which he also insisted that he had become the company’s “chief servant officer” since taking over as chief executive in 2016 – has not reignited positive sentiment. Time Out’s shares have fallen 43 per cent in the last year.
Shareholders seem to have been spooked by a new £20m debt facility which comes with a 10 to 15 per cent interest rate and could halt Time Out’s progress towards profitability. But the extra capital should allow the group to accelerate the development of its city markets, five of which are set to open in North America next year. Time Out’s first market in Lisbon continues to attract new visitors who are spending more per head, which sent underlying revenues up 48 per cent to £3.8m in the first half of 2018. Prior to these results, broker Liberum was expecting markets revenue to leap from £6m in 2017 to £8.9m in 2018 and £20.7m following year.
Underlying growth in the larger digital division – which includes the website, print advertising and e-commerce platforms – was substantially slower at 1 per cent, but management’s decision to focus on the higher margin operations helped lift the division’s gross margins to 58 per cent.
| TIME OUT (TMO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 84p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 112m | |
| TOUCH: | 82-85p | 12-MONTH HIGH / LOW: | 145p | 73p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 66p* | NET CASH: | £9.4m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2017 | 18.7 | -16.3 | -11.9 | nil |
| 2018 | 22.4 | -12.1 | -8.6 | nil |
| % change | +20 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £69m, or 51p a share | ||||
