OUR STRATEGY IS TO BUILD ON OUR CORE,
MARKET-LEADING BUSINESS TO CREATE A WORLD-CLASS
MARKET INFORMATION GROUP.

INTERIM GROUP PROFIT & LOSS STATEMENT

The group profit and loss statement set out below represents the group’s full interim profit and loss account (which is included in the financial information) in order to show more clearly the results from continuing operations.

*Before amortisation of intangangible assets and exceptional items

Group revenues were down 4.3 per cent to £489.4 million while operating profits were down 37.8 per cent to £59.5 million. Earnings per share* were down 37.2 per cent to 11.8 pence. The underlying change, stripping out the effects of currency translation, acquisitions, disposals and biennials on each business, is shown in the table above - the majority of this underlying change is accounted for by currency translation.

During the first half of 2001, group operating results were affected by weakened market conditions in United’s key professional media sector of technology. This weakness was exacerbated by difficult economic conditions in the US, the key geographic market for United, contributing around two-thirds of continuing revenues.

In response to the deterioration in the trading environment, United has acted to reduce its cost base and mitigate the full impact of the downturn. Headcount across the group has been reduced by over 700, around 9 per cent of total employees. Of this, over 600 employees have already left the group. The reduction in staff numbers together with additional cost management initiatives has yielded around £15 million in savings in the period; actions taken to date will result in cost savings of £60 million by the year-end.

United has made good progress in delivering the agenda set out at the end of last year. £1.25 billion in value realised at the time of the sale of our ITV assets to Granada was returned to shareholders in April. A series of acquisitions have strengthened our core businesses.

In June, Allison-Fisher International, the leading US automotive market research company, was acquired for an initial consideration of $45 million, consolidating NOP World’s position as
a leading provider of automotive research. This acquisition provides new growth opportunities through expanding Allison-Fisher’s syndicated research products into Europe.

On 3rd August 2001, United announced the acquisition of Roper Starch International, one of the leading consumer trends and consulting companies in the US, for $88 million. Roper adds an extensive range of research studies to NOP World, including syndicated reports on consumer attitudes, lifestyles, values and behaviour. Its major studies include Roper Reports Worldwide and Roper Youth, while its Global Diabetes Monitor will support NOP World’s leading healthcare position. The acquisition of Roper strengthens United’s presence in the US market, boosts its consumer research capabilities and adds value to its healthcare portfolio. The acquisition will be earnings accretive in its first full year of ownership.

These acquisitions were achieved at attractive prices and have strengthened NOP World’s position in the strategically important US market, which accounts for around 40 per cent of global research spend, and created a global market research business with annual revenues of over £200 million.

In March, PR Newswire acquired Cyperus, the leading company in the French high-tech corporate communications market, for an initial consideration of 11 million Euros and in July, PRN took
a 50 per cent stake in the press release distribution arm of the Dutch national press agency, ANP. These two investments follow PR Newswire’s strategy of geographic expansion in the high potential growth market of Continental Europe, acquiring companies with strong local brands and intimate market knowledge.

United has continued to rationalise its holdings in businesses which do not fit into its long-term plans. In April, United’s 50 per cent stake in LineOne and the Megastar consumer website were sold. In June, United closed Trivanti, the technology joint venture with Psion and rationalised the Farmgate web business. United reduced the online investment in continuing businesses to no more than £20 million in the current financial year, down from £91.2 million as reported last year.

To strengthen the links and build the synergies between operating divisions, United is currently implementing a new brand strategy across the group. Our three core businesses will be united under the same logo style, which explicitly links each business directly to United under a common visual identity system. This follows the launch of the new United Business Media corporate identity in February and provides the group with a simplified, universal brand strategy for the first time.

United will continue to grow the group through acquisition, investment and strategic alliance. The approach will be to maintain a disciplined evaluation of opportunities available to United; opportunities that have the potential to offer excellent long-term growth with good revenue generating prospects that will complement existing core businesses.
United’s priorities for the second half of the year are to continue to manage the cost base of the group effectively and achieve its cost-savings; to work towards delivering a satisfactory operating result in markets which are expected to remain difficult; and to continue to drive the revenue opportunities and cost synergies between its businesses.

WE WILL SEEK TO ADD VALUE TO THE GROUP
BY FULLY EXPLOITING THE SYNERGIES BETWEEN
OUR CORE MARKET LEADING BUSINESSES.

BUSINESS REVIEW

PROFESSIONAL MEDIA

Professional Media revenues were £302.3 million, a decrease of 9.2 per cent over 2000. Operating profits decreased 49.9 per cent to £35.4 million.

Financial results in CMP Media, the leading US high-tech professional media company, were severely affected by weakness in the US technology market. CMP Media’s position as the clear market leader in the high tech professional media sector has helped to insulate it against the worst effects of the market downturn. CMP has strengthened its number one position and by the end of June had a 29.5 per cent share of the market, up from 23.9 per cent in the same period last year. Despite the 26.1 per cent fall in advertising page volumes across the high-tech market in 2001, total yields across the division were maintained at last year’s high levels.

CMP Media’s exhibitions business, which includes e-business expo and PC Expo, also suffered, with revenues falling by 15 per cent.

CMP Asia is the largest private trade show operator in Asia, with exhibitions in a range of markets including shipping, leather, beauty and jewellery. Overall, revenues improved 1.7 per cent to £24.1 million with profits up 16.7 per cent to £9.1 million.

CMP Information, the UK based exhibitions and publishing business, had mixed fortunes. The improvement in building, fire & security, travel and healthcare markets was offset by weakness in packaging, agriculture and music & entertainment technology. Overall, revenues were up 5 per cent on a like-for-like basis but profits were adversely affected by the consolidation of the former Xilerate business into CMPI and the absorption of higher overheads within the combined portfolio. A major overhead reduction programme will boost margins in the second half of the year.

NEWS DISTRIBUTION

PR Newswire's revenues increased 11.1 per cent to £66.9 million and profits were up 1.0 per cent at £21.2 million.

Average revenue per message was up 12 per cent in PR Newswire’s core business, reflecting a combination of price increases and the increase in message length following the introduction by the SEC of Regulation Fair Disclosure in
October 2000. Demand for multimedia services also increased, notably a 200 per cent increase in webcast of companies’ quarterly earnings announcements.

Message volume in PR Newswire was down 12 per cent to 109,500 releases, reflecting the deteriorating US economy and lower number of IPO, merger & acquisition and discretionary releases. Extensive cost reduction measures have helped to maintain PRN’s
30 per cent plus operating margins.

PR Newswire’s commitment to new product innovation and improved customer service helped to increase the number of quoted clients by 70 in the period.

Measurement and monitoring products such as ProfNet and NEWSdesk continued to grow and now provide 13 per cent of PRN’s revenues, up from 11 per cent last year. PRN Europe increased revenues due to a good performance from its European bureaux and multimedia/broadcast activity – its fastest growing revenue stream. Profits decreased in Europe due to investment in the development of the European infrastructure, the preparation for RNS deregulation and the acquisition of Cyperus, the French news distribution business, now successfully integrated within the business.

MARKET RESEARCH

The record order book at the end of last year helped boost revenues by 13.9 per cent to £76.1 million and profits by 7.1 per cent to £10.6 million. Margins at 13.9 per cent are amongst the highest levels in the market research industry.

In NOP Research, good performances in the business/IT, healthcare and automotive portfolios generated revenues firmly ahead of UK market growth.

Strong performances in healthcare research and consultancy, where revenues grew by 25 per cent and in MRI, the leading syndicated print research company, lifted NOP World’s profits in the US. Continuing growth is expected in both of these markets.

CONSUMER MEDIA

UAP revenues were down 7.9 per cent to £29.2 million and profits were down 16.7 per cent to £6.0 million as UAP continued to suffer weakness in its core UK used car market, accounting for around 50 per cent of total revenues.

The reduction in UK holiday advertising caused by the foot and mouth crisis reduced revenues in Dalton’s Weekly. Industrial Exchange & Mart suffered from weakness in the UK manufacturing sector, while the Opportunities and Trade-it publications delivered improved revenues.

ONLINE

CMP Media’s online revenues were reduced by the tough market conditions in the high-tech sector. Many low-revenue websites were closed and overheads generally were significantly reduced.

PR Newswire’s online revenues were boosted by the strong performance of e-Watch, the online monitoring service and Virtual IQ, the dedicated investor relations service.

UAP’s online losses reflect the development costs of Interactive Exchange & Mart (iXM).

The discontinued online section contains the B2C and B2B elements of CMP Information, which have either been sold or closed.

WE BELIEVE THAT IN TODAYS ECONOMY,
THE STRATEGIC USE OF INFORMATION IS
CRITICAL TO BUSINESS SUCCESS.

CURRENT TRADING AND OUTLOOK

Current trading remains very challenging and we are not planning on a recovery during the remainder of 2001. In the absence of consistent patterns of demand for their products, CMP Media’s high-tech advertisers remain unable to commit to long-term advertising and marketing programmes. The strength of CMP’s titles is evident however in their success in maintaining yields and growing market share.

Market research continues to make good progress with a strong showing from healthcare and other syndicated businesses.

We have seen continued growth in regulatory news release. The sharp downturn in merger & acquisition and IPO activity, the higher level of investment in new products and building out our European network have held back profit growth.

Full-year cost savings of £60 million will assist United’s second half performance.

DIVIDEND

An unchanged interim dividend of 11.0p will be paid on 25th October to shareholders on the register on 17th August.

EXCEPTIONAL ITEMS

Exceptional items comprise the following:

The profit on disposal of businesses is principally in respect of LineOne. Measures taken to rationalise the cost base of the business have resulted in restructuring costs of £7.7 million. The Group Process Review costs are principally in respect of major IT projects at PR Newswire and CMP Information.

FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

Investments in Channel 5 and SDN (which were classified as New Ventures), ITN, Paperloop and Creative Planet have been reclassified as Fixed Asset Investments with effect from 1 January 2001.

B SHAREs

As indicated at the time of the capital reorganisation in April, the Company intends to arrange a further repurchase offer to holders of outstanding B shares at 245 pence per share. Documentation will be sent to shareholders in late August.