Revenues down 1% to £187.3m, as expected
Revenues excluding event timing differences up 1%
Subscriptions return to growth in second quarter
Adjusted profit before tax up 8% to £52.4m
Adjusted operating margin unchanged at 30%
Increased investment in new products and digital migration
Net debt remains at historically low levels and less than 0.5x EBITDA
Four bolt-on acquisitions announced since January
Interim dividend maintained at 7p a share
Second half trading in line with board's expectations
Commenting on the first half results, chairman Richard Ensor said:
"The group's strategy of building a focused global online information business has underpinned the company's bottom line growth despite the challenging markets. We have continued to invest in technology and new products to drive organic growth, and have made acquisitions from which we expect to drive future revenue synergies. Overall, trading remains in line with the board's expectations. "
