Revenue at B2B publisher Reed Business Information – owner of the New Scientist and Farmers Weekly – grew 1 per cent in the nine months to 30 September, parent company Reed Elsevier announced this morning.
RBI's growth was credited to strong performances by its data services group (which included the acquisition of Accuity) and the website Totaljobs
In an interim management statement the company said: 'Leading magazine brands were flat in the first nine months while other local business magazines and services, particularly in continental Europe, continued the decline seen in the first half.
'While we are seeing some recent impact on print advertising markets from the weaker European economic outlook, the effect has so far been limited and largely offset by improving sales and marketing effectiveness."
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Overall growth at Reed Elsevier was up 1 per cent, which included a 4 per revenue rise at LexisNexis Risk Solutions and 1 per cent increase in turnover at LexisNexis Legal & Professional.
In March the company announced that revenue at Reed Business Information dropped 20 per cent in the 2010 financial year as a result of the closure and sell off of scores of business magazines
In November Reed Business Information announced the closure of its award-winning magazine for care professionals Community Care.
Earlier this year it sold its 45-year-old Computer Weekly title and associated events to IT publisher TechTarget, which took the magazine online only.
Commenting on the interim results, Reed Elsevier chief executive Erik Engstrom said: 'The overall improvement in Reed Elsevier's trading performance in the first half has continued.
'Our large subscription and data businesses are continuing to perform well, increasingly providing information solutions that demonstrably improve the economics of our professional and business customers.
'The recent uncertainty in the macro-economic environment has had a limited impact on some of our more cyclical businesses with only a marginal effect on our overall results to date.
'We have continued to strengthen the fundamentals of our business through reshaping the portfolio, investing in our market positions and driving process efficiency.'
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