July 28, 2015

Informa half-year results: Revenue static and profit down 2.6 per cent as B2B division restructures

Business publisher Informa reported adjusted operating profit down 2.6 per cent for the first six months of this year to £190.4m.

Informa's results for the first half of 2015 show a 0.2 per cent growth in overall revenue to £618.8m.

The figures quoted are "organic" rather than "actual" numbers (which record a 14.2 per cent growth in operating profit and revenues up 8.6 per cent). Informa made its "organic" calculations by adjusting the results for "material acquisitions and disposals and the effects of changes in foreign currency rates". The organic figures also exclude the consumer information businesses which have been sold to Progressive Digital Media for £25m.

Informa's Business Intelligence division – which publishes a number of business-to-business titles including 281-year-old shipping industry title Lloyd's List – recorded revenues of £138.8m, down 3.5 per cent. And its adjusted operating profit was down 20.3 per cent to £28.2m.

The Business Intelligence unit – which had its consumer information businesses sold to PDM, as announced yesterday – accounted for 22 per cent of the group's revenue and 15 per cent of adjusted operating profit.

Informa's other divisions are:

Academic Publishing – revenue £195m, up 2.5 per cent; adjusted operating profit £66.7m, up 2.3 per cent

Global Exhibitions – revenue £168.8m, up 6.4 per cent; adjusted operating profit £77.8m, up 10.3 per cent

Knowledge and Networking – revenue £116.2m, down 5.5 per cent; adjusted operating profit £17.7m, down 19.3 per cent.

The Business Intelligence unit, Informa said, is entering the second year of a "restructuring programme". As part of the this, the division is "focusing on simplifying the Divisional Operating Structure, streamlining the Portfolio and improving Sales, Subscription Value, Subscription Renewals and Customer Management".

Informa said: "We have also started to invest further in product innovatiojn and technology. The benefits from these investments will deliver longer term returns but th eprogress made to date gives us increasing confidence that in 2015 we can at least halve the revenue decline reported last year."

On the Business Intelligence results, Informa said: "We are making good progress in driving operational fitness into the Business Intelligence Division. The reorganisation of the business into five market facing verticals with a central Divisional management team has created unity and focus. At the same time, we have deliberately placed much greater focus on customer relationships and subscription management. Together this is helping to steadily improve trends across Annualised Contract Values, renewal rates and the new business pipeline.

"As we continue to strengthen the operating framework and discipline across the Division, we are also now starting to invest in specific initiatives centred on product development and delivery technology. These are longer-term projects and will take time to reap benefits but will be essential, in combination with our improved operational capability, to return the business back to consistent levels of organic growth."