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Divisional Commentary
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PR Newswire
PR Newswire delivered another very strong performance in all areas of operation. Underlying revenue was up 6.2% and underlying operating profit was up 24.2%, with operating margin up from 27.9% to 29.8%. The US experienced strong profit growth driven by yield, improving mix and continued cost reduction. PR Newswire Europe grew profits and achieved a margin of 34.8% in the first half. China increased revenue by 32.5% and moved into profit in the first half.
CMP Asia
CMP Asia’s strong performance continued. Underlying revenue was up 8.3%, driven principally by the growth of the exhibitions in Hong Kong, China and Japan. We are investing in China, India and in new online media products to increase our presence in higher growth markets. We have opened an office in Mumbai, India and are launching new events. We continue to seek expansion opportunities and in the first half announced our intention to acquire a majority share in the Guangzhou Beauty Fair (China). Underlying operating profits were up 8.8% and operating margins increased to 27.2% from 25.9%.
CMP Information
CMP Information (“CMPi”) increased revenue by 19.4% and profit by 18.6% to £22.3m and remains our largest profit contributor. Its strong exhibitions and acquisition performance has been partially offset by investment in new product development. The margin in the first half was 24%. Underlying revenue, excluding disposed titles was up 5.6% while underlying operating profit was down 1.3%, reflecting the investment in new product development. In order to drive additional efficiencies in the business, CMPi is undergoing further reorganisation including office rationalisation, outsourcing and off-shoring. The performance of exhibitions has been strong, particularly in the Chemical and Food Ingredients, Furniture and Security markets. CMPi seek to expand both by making acquisitions (like Informex, the National Venue Show and Thames Gateway Forum) and by extending our events internationally into new geographies such as China, India and Eastern Europe.
In the first half we continued to rationalise the portfolio and have realised £16.7m from the disposal of a number of smaller titles.
CMP Technology
CMP Technology revenue rose in the first half by 29.3% with operating profit rising by 38.4%, largely due to acquisitions. CMP Technology is performing in line with expectations with a good performance from acquired businesses, with all round strength in events and strong revenue growth in online. We continue to see some customers allocating more of their spend towards online and events. Print performance is in line with established trends, with volumes trending down.
CMP Technology’s underlying revenue fell 3.6% in the first half while diminished print profitability and investment in online reduced underlying profit by 32.7%. Events performed strongly in the half with revenues increasing by over 150% from $27.6m to $69.9m. The performance reflects the acquisition of a number of successful events which take place during the first half of the year, particularly those from MediaLive such as Interop Las Vegas and Interop Japan. CMP Technology’s online business grew rapidly both organically and through acquisition; revenues increasing by 70% to $31.8m from $18.7m.
CMPMedica
CMPMedica is performing in line with expectations. Revenue increased by 24.7% to €134.0m and operating profit increased by 5.7% to €21.6m. CMPMedica’s performance reflects a strong seasonal weighting towards the first half of the year. Our important French business including Vidal and the French Medical Press business performed well.
All healthcare activities have been consolidated into CMPMedica, including certain events and publications in the US and UK which were previously managed by CMP Media and CMP Information respectively.
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