January 13, 2012

Revenue up 4 per cent at Centaur Media

Centaur Media expects to report a 4 per cent rise in year-on-year revenue in the second half of 2011, according to a trading update issued by the company this morning.

The group, which publishes titles including The Lawyer, Money Marketing and Marketing Week, also expects to report EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margins up from 4.5 per cent in the second half of 2010 to 6.5 per cent in 2011.

While November 2011 revenues were weaker year on year, it expects digital revenues to show strong underlying growth and print revenues to remain flat.

The acquisition of Investment Platforms Limited and Venture Business Research last year cost the company £4.3m, taking its debt to £5.5m at the end of 2011.

In a statement Centuar said its earnings and cash flows were heavily weighted towards the second half of the financial year and that it expected to be ‘cash positive’by 30 June 2012.

Chief executive Geoff Wilmot said: “We remain encouraged by what has been a good first half.

‘While the economic outlook is challenging, we see strong potential across each of the business publishing, business information and exhibitions divisions and there remains a strong pipeline of potential acquisitions.

“The second half of the year traditionally accounts for the majority of our earnings, and we anticipate trading in line with our expectations for the current financial year.”

In June Centaur announced a review which saw headcount drop 10 per cent and which incurred restructuring costs of £2.5m.

In the same month it also announced plans to scrap the print editions of Design Week and New Media Age and sell off a number of smaller business titles within its portfolio including The Recruiter and The Logistics Manager.