Time Out (TMO) delivered full-year results “marginally better” than house broker Liberum’s expectations. While the top line was buoyed by both organic and acquisitive growth, a 10 percentage point improvement in the gross margin to 66 per cent stemmed from the group’s “strong operational focus” during 2018.
Indeed, within its larger media business, Time Out has cancelled lower-margin live events and prioritised e-commerce traffic. It has also reduced the frequency of its New York magazine, and discontinued certain lower-margin publications in smaller cities including Austin and Philadelphia. Thus, while media revenues edged up by 4 per cent to £39.8m – tempered by declining print sales – margins were also on the rise, with admin costs falling significantly as a proportion of revenue.
Sales for Time Out Market – the company’s food and culture halls – rose by over a half to £9m. The Lisbon market alone received 3.9m visitors, engendering a 14 per cent increase in total tenant turnover and cash profits of £4.3m – up 95 per cent.
Liberum expects adjusted pre-tax losses of £10.9m in 2019, with losses per share of 7.9p, against losses of £16.5m and 12.6p in 2018.
| TIME OUT (TMO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 90p | MARKET VALUE: | £121m | |
| TOUCH: | 88-92p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 132p | 69p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 66p* | NET DEBT: | 5.5% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2014** | 26.9 | -12.6 | na | na |
| 2015** | 28.5 | -21.0 | -40.6 | na |
| 2016 | 35.7 | -18.8 | -18.9 | nil |
| 2017 | 44.4 | -26.3 | -19.0 | nil |
| 2018 | 48.8 | -15.2 | -10.9 | nil |
| % change | +10 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £69m, or 52p a share**Pre-IPO figures | ||||
