Revenues increased by 5% to £195.8m
Underlying revenues excluding acquisitions up 3% at constant currency
Adjusted profit before tax increased by 2% to £53.4m
Adjusted operating margin down two percentage points reflecting investment in digital strategy
Delphi content platform launched successfully in Q2, on time and on budget
New long-term incentive plan (CAP 2014) approved by shareholders at the AGM
Net debt increased by nearly £20m due to the acquisition of Infrastructure Journal, the purchase of own shares for CAP 2014 purposes and the timing of long-term incentive payments
Unchanged interim dividend of 7p a share
Strength of sterling against US dollar provides second half headwind
Second half underlying trading in line with board's expectations
Commenting on the first half results, chairman Richard Ensor said:
"The half year results reflect the benefits of our strategy, with growth from an improved performance from subscription products as well as new events and successful acquisitions.
The group's performance continues in line with the board's expectations. No significant changes to the first half revenue trends are expected until more of the sectors in which we operate improve. Meanwhile, the group intends to maintain its strategy of investing in new products and digital publishing, particularly using the Delphi content platform, to drive organic growth, and to use its strong balance sheet and cash flows to fund further acquisitions."
