Financial and operational highlights
Reported revenues grew by 8% to £39.9m; underlying growth in revenues up 4%
o Premium content revenues up 7%
o Underlying live events revenues up 9%, with strong growth in exhibitions offset by weaker small events. Reported live events revenues up 22%
o Advertising revenues down 6%
o Premium content and live events revenues account for 71% of total revenues (2015: 67%)
Adjusted operating profits of £5.0m (2015: £6.1m) with adjusted² operating margin of 12.5% (2015: 16.6%) reflecting the impact of:
o Lower advertising revenues which have a high profit drop through
o Building premium content products, especially within the Legal portfolio in the Professional segment
o Building capability of commercial teams, CRM and back office platforms
Reported operating profits were £3.1m (2015: £4.8m)
Cash flow performance continuing to improve:
o £6.2m positive adjusted working capital swing vs H1 2015
o Net debt reduced to £14.1m from £17.9m at December 2015
o Adjusted operating cash flow of £8.8m (2015: £2.9m) with cash conversion of 176%³ (2015: 48%)
o Leverage (net debt / adjusted EBITDA) target remains less than 1 times by end 2016
Operationally:
o Cost reductions underway expected to deliver annualised savings of £2.0m
o Marketing and Home Interest segments continue to grow well
o Further progress in development of premium digital revenues with both Platforum and The Lawyer moved to subscription models
o Financial Services revenues 10% lower reflecting weakening advertising trends
o Deferred revenues of £16.5m (June 2015: £15.6m) up 19% on an underlying basis
Interim dividend of 1.5p (2015: 1.5p)
