Centaur media is today announcing a dividend payment of £5m, equivalent to 3.5p per share, payable on 25 October 2019. This includes a 2p per share special dividend as the first distribution of the proceeds from the recent disposals. Centaur intends to make further returns of cash in 2020 with these payments being subject to, inter alia, satisfactory group performance and ensuring the group has sufficient working capital to continue to invest in its strategy.
Other financial highlights include:
- Xeim underlying revenues declined by 4% to £19.7m due to deliberate management actions to close low margin products combined with trading weaknesses at Econsultancy's US operations and MarketMakers
- The Lawyer increased underlying revenues by 11% to £4.3m
- Strong growth from information Influencer Intelligence data analytics platform and e-learning products
- Adjusted operating loss of £1.3m (2018: £1.8m) includes central overhead costs of supporting four businesses sold during the first half
- Central cost savings resulting from the disposals planned from the second half of 2019
- Group statutory profit after taxation of £6.0m (2018: £0.5m) due to gains on disposal of subsidiaries
- Net cash of £14.4m at 30 June 2018 (2018: £1.8m) after receiving £16.0m of net disposal proceeds in the period
