Interim Results
Centaur Media PLC
15 March 2007
March 15th 2007
Centaur Media plc interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2006
Highlights
Centaur Media plc ("Centaur") announces its results for the six months ended 31
December 2006.
6 months ended 6 months ended
31 December 31 December
2006 2005 Movement
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
£m £m
Revenue 37.7 33.8 12%
Adjusted EBITDA (1) 5.6 4.1 37%
Adjusted EBITDA margin 15% 12%
Adjusted profit before tax (2) 4.2 2.9 45%
Profit before tax 3.8 4.9 (22)%
Adjusted basic EPS (pence) (3) 2.2 1.3 69%
Basic EPS (pence) 2.0 2.7 (26)%
Cash conversion rate (4) 95% 154%
Net cash 4.2 7.9
Interim dividend per share (pence) 1.0 0.6 67%
• 12% growth in Group revenue, led by advertising up 19%, due to impact of
acquisitions, increasing strength of online products and Legal & Financial
division.
• High operational gearing supports adjusted EBITDA margin improvement by
3 percentage points to 15%.
• Revenue growth leads to adjusted profit before tax ahead by 45% and
adjusted EPS ahead by 69%.
• High levels of new product development activity since June 2006
including 5 new events, 9 new online channels, the launch of Web TV and the
announcement of a joint venture with YouGov.
• Interim dividend of 1.0 pence per share proposed.
Geoff Wilmot, Chief Executive Officer of Centaur Media plc, said: "The results
in the first half show further year-on-year growth, reflecting the success of
our strategy of creating market-leading products across a range of market
sectors. The outlook for the second half is positive and we remain confident
about the outcome for the full year to 30 June 2007."
Enquiries:
Centaur Media plc Geoff Wilmot, CEO Tel: 020 7970 4000
Mike Lally, GFD
Gavin Anderson & Company Richard Constant Tel: 020 7554 1400
Robert Speed
Janine Brewis
www.centaur.co.uk
Notes:
1. One of Centaur's key measures of profit, which is used to measure the
relative performance of divisional units of the Group, is earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, excluding exceptionals and
other significant non-cash items (Adjusted EBITDA).
2. Adjusted PBT is profit before tax, excluding the impact of amortisation
of acquired intangibles and of exceptional items.
3. Adjusted EPS is based on the basic EPS but after making adjustments for
amortisation of acquired intangibles and exceptional items as detailed in
note 4 to the interim report.
4. Cash conversion rate is free cash flow expressed as a percentage of
adjusted operating profit. Free cash flow is defined as cash generated
from operations (note 7 to the interim report), less capital expenditure
on property, plant and equipment and software. Adjusted operating profit
is operating profit after making adjustments for amortisation of acquired
intangibles and exceptional items.
Interim Business Review
Introduction
I am pleased to announce that Centaur achieved further impressive growth in both
turnover and adjusted profit before tax in the six months to 31 December 2006.
In what is seasonally Centaur's weaker half of the year (due to the low levels
of publishing and event activity in August and December) revenue grew 12% to
£37.7 million and adjusted profit before tax increased by 45% to £4.2 million
(FY2006: £2.9 million).
Reported profit before tax was £3.8 million (FY2006: £4.9 million). The
Company's results for the six months ended 31 December 2005 included an
exceptional gain of £2.0 million arising from the release of a provision for
contingent consideration relating to the acquisition of Synergy Software
Solutions Ltd. In addition, in the current period the Company reported
amortisation of acquired intangibles of £0.4 million (FY2006: £nil).
The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.0p per share (2006: 0.6p). The
interim dividend will be paid on 20 April 2007 to shareholders on the share
register at 23 March 2007.
Business Overview
Centaur benefits from a strong presence in a number of high-value vertical
market sectors, in which it pursues its strategy of building market leading
positions through multiple media platforms. During the period, it has continued
to experience growth in a number of these sectors, shown by the analysis of
results set out at the end of this business review.
Advertising remains the principal source of revenue, generating 59% of revenues
during the first half. Overall advertising revenues grew 19% in the period, led
by the impact of acquisitions in the previous financial year and by the strength
in online advertising. Recruitment and other advertising, principally display,
both recorded solid growth in the period.
Total revenues from online products grew 30%, reflecting the continued strong
growth in internet advertising, particularly online recruitment, which increased
by 41% year on year, supplementing a relatively robust recruitment performance
in the magazines. Events revenues declined by 8%, largely due to the highly
successful Mortgage Strategy Summit moving to April 2007 in Dubai in order to
accommodate significant growth.
Centaur has a strong record of organic growth, with most of its current
portfolio having been launched rather than acquired. During the period, our new
developments included four new websites. These new websites are now trading at
or above break-even and are expected to make a significant contribution in the
medium term. The most important of these are marketingweek.co.uk and
designweek.co.uk. These two websites will build on the strength of their related
magazine brands and will enable us to extend our service offering to these
important communities.
The pace of new business activity has increased since the period end. In January
2007 we launched a new monthly magazine, Mortgage Distributor, part of the
Mortgage Strategy portfolio. We launched the title alongside a new event, the
Packager Summit, which ran successfully in Nice in January. Both products are
expected to make a positive profit contribution in this financial year. Also in
January, we launched The Lawyer HR awards, which has further cemented our
relationship with our core law firm clients and key sponsors. The event made a
small positive contribution.
We have also launched a series of important podcast and web TV services in
several of our online products, which we believe will generate good growth in
the medium term. During January, we also launched Headline Property ("HP"), an
extension of our highly successful news service for financial journalists,
Headline Money. HP will perform a similar service for professional property
journalists. January also saw the launch of the Marketing Week Interactive
Summit, a successful and profitable new conference and workshop-based event
designed to equip senior marketers to develop effective digital strategies.
In the last month we have agreed to partner with Dnata World of Events, a
leading events and travel management business based in Dubai and part of the
Emirates Group. The joint venture's first initiative will be a Dubai edition of
the successful Business Travel show, which will be staged in October 2007.
Planning for other shows with Dnata will commence in the next few months.
We have also just announced a joint venture with the leading online research
business YouGov. The joint venture, YouGovCentaur Ltd, will establish specialist
online research panels in each of Centaur's vertical markets. These will be used
to create customised and syndicated research-based products for our core
markets. Two such projects are already underway. This is an exciting new venture
that strongly supports our strategic goal of increasing the proportion of our
revenues derived from content.
Review of Divisional Results
We continue to report our results in five major operating business segments.
These are Legal & Financial; Marketing, Creative & New Media; Construction &
Engineering; Perfect Information and General Business Services (formerly Other).
Legal & Financial
Revenues grew 15% in the period compared with the corresponding period in 2005
and this led to adjusted EBITDA margins rising to 28% (2005: 26%). This
division's target markets - lawyers and IFA's - remained strong, benefiting the
major established brands in this division. In the financial sector, Mortgage
Strategy and Headline Money in particular delivered rapid growth in turnover and
profits. In the legal sector, The Lawyer magazine and thelawyer.com delivered
further strong growth to new record levels, reflecting the strength of the
market and the growing value of The Lawyer brand. Revenue growth in the division
was advertising-driven, with recruitment ahead by 25% and other advertising up
18%.
Marketing, Creative & New Media
Revenues declined 4% on the corresponding period in 2005 but earlier cost
savings led to adjusted EBITDA margins improving to 9% (2005: 8%). Ongoing
weakness in the media, retail and consumer goods sectors continued to have an
adverse impact on the marketing and creative division, although market shares
were broadly stable in the period. Marketingweek.co.uk and designweek.co.uk were
both successfully launched, partly offsetting the overall revenue decline. Both
websites traded close to break-even in the period and are now generating a small
profit. There are some signs of an improving outlook for the sector, including
recruitment revenues growing 7% in the period and good growth in the interactive
marketing area, with New Media Age strongly ahead and a successful launch of the
Interactive Marketing Summit referred to above. Looking forward, the latest
quarterly Bellwether Report (published by the Institute of Practitioners in
Advertising in January 2007), which is an important forward indicator of
activity in the marketing services sector, reported that new budget-setting for
2007-08 marketing budgets was at its most buoyant level for seven years.
Engineering & Construction
Revenues grew 41% helped by the impact of recent bolt-on acquisitions. Adjusted
EBITDA margins remained unchanged at 17% reflecting the impact of lower margins
currently being achieved on the recent new launch, Move or Improve. The
engineering sector remains challenging but The Engineer and its associated
website continued to deliver satisfactory growth. In Construction, the
self-build market showed modest improvement, though the DIY market remained
challenging. Nevertheless, Homebuilding & Renovating and its extensions,
especially the regional shows, delivered further healthy growth, whilst the
newly launched Move or Improve recorded an improved profit in the period. Period
Living, acquired in February 2006, performed well in the period, in line with
expectations.
Perfect Information
Revenues were flat but adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 23% (2005: 20%). The
underlying market remained favourable, but growth in the core filings product
was offset by continued declines in revenues from non-core services acquired
with the Synergy acquisition. Perfect Analysis' Excel add-in was successfully
launched in early February 2007, after an extensive period of testing. It is
currently being trialled by several existing and prospective new clients. On the
filings side, we have recommenced development activity previously deferred due
to the focus of our development resources on Perfect Analysis. We have recently
launched a unique new database of collateralised debt obligations and an
improved SEC filings product. These and other planned initiatives are expected
to support renewed growth in revenues in the next few months. We have also
identified cost savings that should positively impact on the second half.
General Business Services
Revenues grew 10% in the period, and adjusted EBITDA losses reduced to £0.6
million (2005: £0.9 million loss). Growth was led by The Recruiter, which we
acquired in December 2005, which performed well, in line with expectations. The
Employee Benefits portfolio experienced a decline in revenues due to a loss of
advertising relating to the home computing initiative, the tax benefit of which
was discontinued a year ago. However, we expect to recover some of this
shortfall in the second half. Business Travel Germany performed well in
September, as did the main London show which has just taken place in February
2007. The logistics portfolio also grew steadily and we relaunched the monthly
title Logistics Europe under the brand Supply Chain Standard in January. It has
moved into profit in the second half, after making a small loss in the interim
period. As previously announced, we sold the loss-making Televisual magazine to
its former publisher in August 2006. During the period, we also discontinued
publication of Finance Week. We entered into an agreement with Sift Media Ltd,
publishers of Accountingweb, who are continuing to publish Finance Week as part
of that business. Centaur will share advertising revenues with Sift and will
deliver events for the Finance Week community.
Management changes
As we reported last autumn, Geoff Wilmot (former CFO) was appointed Chief
Executive Officer of the Company on 1st November 2006. Graham Sherren remains as
Chairman. Mike Lally (former Finance Director) joined the board as Group Finance
Director.
Current trading & outlook
The overall outlook for the second half is positive and we expect further year
on year growth in revenues and profits in the six months to June 2007. Most
parts of the business are currently trading comfortably ahead of last year. With
a strong pipeline of new products and further growth in our established
business, we are confident of a positive outcome for the full year.
Geoff Wilmot, Chief Executive Officer
Analysis of results
Six months to Six months to
31 December 2006 31 December 2005
Adjusted Adjusted
Turnover EBITDA Turnover EBITDA
-----------------------------------------------------
£m £m £m £m
By Division
Legal and Financial 11.6 3.2 10.1 2.6
Marketing, Creative and New Media 10.2 0.9 10.6 0.8
Construction and Engineering 8.3 1.4 5.9 1.0
Perfect Information 3.0 0.7 3.0 0.6
General Business Services 4.6 (0.6) 4.2 (0.9)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
37.7 5.6 33.8 4.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Source
Recruitment advertising 6.7 - 5.4 -
Other advertising 15.7 - 13.4 -
Circulation Revenue 3.2 - 2.6 -
Online subscriptions 3.7 - 3.6 -
Events 7.8 - 8.5 -
Other 0.6 - 0.3 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
37.7 - 33.8 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Client Type
Audiences 9.5 - 8.4 -
Marketers 28.2 - 25.4 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
37.7 - 33.8 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Product Type
Magazines 21.8 3.9 18.6 2.1
Events 7.8 0.8 8.5 1.0
Online products 7.3 1.0 5.6 0.9
Other 0.8 (0.1) 1.1 0.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
37.7 5.6 33.8 4.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Underlying
Underlying 34.8 5.3 33.2 4.2
Acquisitions (1) 2.9 0.3 0.6 (0.1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 37.7 5.6 33.8 4.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Maturity
New (2) 3.6 (1.1) 5.2 (0.7)
Existing and acquired 34.1 6.7 28.6 4.8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 37.7 5.6 33.8 4.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Acquisitions are defined as those made within the current or preceding
financial year.
2. New products are defined as any product launched in the current and two
preceding financial years.
Independent Review Report to Centaur Media plc
Introduction
We have been instructed by the company to review the financial information for
the six months ended 31 December 2006 which comprises the consolidated interim
balance sheet and statement of changes in shareholders' equity as at 31 December
2006 and the related consolidated interim statements of income and cash flows
for the six months then ended and related notes. We have read the other
information contained in the interim report and considered whether it contains
any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the financial
information.
Directors' responsibilities
The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, is
the responsibility of, and has been approved by the directors. The Listing Rules
of the Financial Services Authority require that the accounting policies and
presentation applied to the interim figures should be consistent with those
applied in preparing the preceding annual accounts, except where any changes and
the reasons for them are disclosed.
This interim report has been prepared in accordance with the basis set out in
"Basis of Preparation" below.
Review work performed
We conducted our review in accordance with guidance contained in Bulletin 1999/4
issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A review
consists principally of making enquiries of group management and applying
analytical procedures to the financial information and underlying financial data
and, based thereon, assessing whether the disclosed accounting policies have
been applied. A review excludes audit procedures such as tests of controls and
verification of assets, liabilities and transactions. It is substantially less
in scope than an audit and therefore provides a lower level of assurance.
Accordingly we do not express an audit opinion on the financial information.
This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only for the
company for the purpose of the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority
and for no other purpose. We do not, in producing this report, accept or assume
responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report
is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our
prior consent in writing.
Review conclusion
On the basis of our review we are not aware of any material modifications that
should be made to the financial information as presented for the six months
ended 31 December 2006.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants
London 14 March 2007
Notes:
(a) The maintenance and integrity of the Centaur Media plc web site is the
responsibility of the directors; the work carried out by the auditors
does not involve consideration of these matters and, accordingly, the
auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred
to the interim report since it was initially presented on the website.
(b) Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and
dissemination of financial information may differ from legislation in
other jurisdictions.
Consolidated income statement for the 6 months ended 31 December 2006
Unaudited Unaudited Audited year
6 months ended 6 months ended ended
31 December 31 December 30 June
2006 2005 2006
Notes £m £m £m
Revenue 1 37.7 33.8 82.3
Cost of sales (20.3) (18.6) (42.8)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gross profit 17.4 15.2 39.5
Distribution costs (2.2) (2.1) (4.5)
Administrative expenses (11.5) (8.5) (20.3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjusted EBITDA 1 5.6 4.1 15.7
Depreciation of property, plant and
equipment (0.4) (0.3) (0.7)
Amortisation of software (0.9) (1.0) (1.8)
Amortisation of acquired intangibles (0.4) - (0.3)
Share-based payments (0.2) (0.2) (0.4)
Exceptional administrative credit 5 - 2.0 2.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating profit 3.7 4.6 14.7
Interest receivable 0.1 0.2 0.3
Share of post tax profit from associate - 0.1 0.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit before tax 3.8 4.9 15.1
Taxation 2 (0.8) (0.9) (3.7)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit for the period 3.0 4.0 11.4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earnings per share
- Basic 4 2.0p 2.7p 7.6p
- Fully diluted 4 2.0p 2.7p 7.6p
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consolidated balance sheet at 31 December 2006
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
31 December 31 December 30 June
2006 2005 2006
-------------------------------------------------
Notes £m £m £m
Assets
Non-current assets
Goodwill 142.0 138.3 142.0
Other intangible assets 12.6 8.3 13.1
Property, plant and equipment 2.5 2.2 2.5
Investments accounted for using equity method 0.3 0.3 0.3
Deferred tax assets 1.6 0.5 1.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
159.0 149.6 159.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current assets
Inventories 2.7 1.9 1.5
Trade and other receivables 17.5 14.5 18.7
Cash and cash equivalents 5.4 10.2 7.8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25.6 26.6 28.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Financial liabilities - borrowings 1.2 2.3 1.6
Trade and other payables 8.8 8.3 11.3
Deferred income 13.5 12.9 10.5
Current tax liabilities 0.9 - 2.6
Provisions - - 0.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24.4 23.5 26.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net current assets 1.2 3.1 1.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-current liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities 1.1 1.1 1.1
Provisions 1.9 0.5 1.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.0 1.6 3.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net assets 157.2 151.1 157.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shareholders' equity
Ordinary shares 14.5 14.9 14.9
Share premium 0.3 0.3 0.3
Other reserves 2.7 2.2 2.4
Retained earnings 139.7 133.7 140.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total shareholders' equity 6 157.2 151.1 157.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The interim financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 14
March 2007 and were signed on its behalf by
M Lally
Director
Consolidated cash flow statement for the 6 months ended 31 December 2006
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
6 months ended 6 months ended year ended
31 December 31 December 30 June
2006 2005 2006
---------------------------------------------------
Notes £m £m £m
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations 7 5.2 5.2 14.4
Tax paid (2.6) (0.6) (1.8)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash from operating activities 2.6 4.6 12.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received 0.1 0.2 0.3
Acquisition of subsidiaries (net of cash
acquired) 0.9 - (4.8)
Proceeds from the sale of subsidiary - 0.4 0.4
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (0.4) (0.4) (1.0)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and
equipment - - -
Purchase of intangible assets (1.2) (5.1) (8.6)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash used in investing activities (0.6) (4.9) (13.7)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flows from financing activities
Treasury shares (0.4) - -
Repayment of loan notes (0.4) (0.2) (0.9)
Dividends paid to shareholders (3.6) (1.8) (2.7)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash used in financing activities (4.4) (2.0) (3.6)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (2.4) (2.3) (4.7)
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 July 7.8 12.5 12.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash and cash equivalents 5.4 10.2 7.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interim financial statements for the 6 months ended 31 December 2006
Basis of preparation
These interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards and with those parts of the
Companies Act 1985 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS. The financial
statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention in accordance
with the accounting policies the Group expects to be applicable at 30 June 2007.
The IFRS's and interpretations issued by both the Standing Interpretations
Committee and the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee
("IFRIC") that will be applicable at 30 June 2007, including those that will be
applicable on an optional basis, are not known with certainty at the time of
preparing these interim financial statements. These figures may therefore
require amendment to change the basis of accounting or presentation of certain
financial information, before their inclusion in the IFRS financial statements
for the year ending 30 June 2007.
As permitted, the interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance
with the UK listing rules and not in accordance with IAS 34 "Interim Financial
Reporting".
These interim financial statements are unaudited and do not constitute statutory
accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.
Additional presentation within the consolidated income statement
The Group has presented separately on the face of the consolidated income
statement an additional profit measure of adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is
earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and excluding
exceptionals and other significant non-cash items. This presentation has been
provided as the Directors believe that this measure reflects more clearly the
ongoing operations of the Group. In 2006 and 2005, share based payment costs
have been treated as a significant non-cash item.
Notes to the interim financial statements for the 6 months 31 December 2006
1. Segmental reporting
Primary reporting format - business segments
The group is organised into five main business segments. The General Business
Services segment was formerly named Other.
Six months ended 31 Marketing, Construction General
December 2006 Legal and Creative and and Perfect Business
Financial New Media Engineering Information Services Unallocated Group
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenue 10.2 11.6 8.3 3.0 4.6 37.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjusted EBITDA 3.2 0.9 1.4 0.7 (0.6) 5.6
Depreciation of
property, plant and equipment (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) - - (0.4)
Amortisation of software (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) (0.4) (0.2) - (0.9)
Amortisation of acquired
intangibles (0.1) - (0.2) (0.1) - - (0.4)
Share based payments - - - - - (0.2) (0.2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment result 2.9 0.7 1.0 0.1 (0.8) (0.2) 3.7
Interest receivable - - - - - 0.1 0.1
Share of post tax profit
from associate - - - - - - -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit before tax 2.9 0.7 1.0 0.1 ( 0.8) (0.1) 3.8
Taxation - - - - - (0.8) (0.8)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit for the period 2.9 0.7 1.0 0.1 (0.8) (0.9) 3.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Segmental reporting (continued)
Six months ended 31 Marketing, Construction General
December 2005 Legal and Creative and and Perfect Business
Financial New Media Engineering Information Services Unallocated Group
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenue 10.1 10.6 5.9 3.0 4.2 - 33.8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjusted EBITDA 2.6 0.8 1.0 0.6 (0.9) - 4.1
Depreciation of
property, plant and equipment (0.1) (0.1) - (0.1) - - (0.3)
Amortisation of software (0.2) (0.2) (0.1) (0.4) (0.1) - (1.0)
Share based payments - - - - - (0.2) (0.2)
Exceptional administrative
credit - - - 2.0 - - 2.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Segment result 2.3 0.5 0.9 2.1 (1.0) (0.2) 4.6
Interest receivable - - - - - 0.2 0.2
Share of post tax profit
from associate 0.1 - - - - - 0.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit before tax 2.4 0.5 0.9 2.1 (1.0) - 4.9
Taxation - - - - - (0.9) (0.9)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit for the period 2.4 0.5 0.9 2.1 (1.0) (0.9) 4.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Taxation
The tax assessed for the period is lower (2005: lower) than the standard rate of
corporation tax in the UK (30%). The differences are explained below:
6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended
31 December 31 December 30 June
2006 2005 2006
£m £m £m
----------------------------------------------
Profit before tax 3.8 4.9 15.1
Profit before tax multiplied by standard rate of
corporation tax in the UK of 30% (2005: 30%) 1.1 1.5 4.5
Effects of:
Non taxable release of deferred consideration
provision - (0.6) (0.8)
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 0.1 - 0.2
Deferred tax credit on share based payments taken -
to income statement (0.4) (0.1)
Adjustments to tax charge in respect of previous
periods - - (0.1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total taxation 0.8 0.9 3.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Dividends
An interim dividend of 1p (2005: 0.6p) per 10p ordinary share is proposed.
This amounts to £1,491,045 (2005: £896,000) and will be paid on 20 April 2007 to
all shareholders on the register as at 23 March 2007.
4. Earnings per share
The calculations of earnings per share are based on the following profits and
numbers of shares:
6 months to 31 December 2006 6 months to 31 December 2005
Weighted Weighted
average no. Per-share average no. Per-share
Earnings of shares amount Earnings of shares amount
------------------------------------------------------------------
£m millions pence £m millions Pence
Basic EPS
Earnings attributable to
ordinary shareholders 3.0 149.1 2.0 4.0 149.3 2.7
Effect of dilutive securities
Options - 1.7 - - 0.5 -
Contingent shares - 0.4 - - - -
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diluted basic EPS 3.0 151.2 2.0 4.0 149.8 2.7
Adjusted EPS
Earnings attributable to
ordinary shareholders 3.0 149.1 2.0 4.0 149.3 2.7
Amortisation of brands and
publishing rights 0.4 - 0.3 - - -
Exceptional administrative credit - - - (2.0) - (1.4)
Tax effect (0.1) - (0.1) - - -
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjusted profit for the period 3.3 149.1 2.2 2.0 149.3 1.3
Effect of dilutive securities
Options - 1.7 - - 0.5 -
Contingent shares - 0.4 - - - -
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diluted adjusted EPS 3.3 151.2 2.2 2.0 149.8 1.3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shares held in an employee benefit trust have been excluded in arriving at the
weighted average number of shares.
5. Exceptional administrative credit
In the six month period to 31 December 2005 the exceptional credit of £2.0
million related to the release of a provision for deferred consideration payable
to the previous shareholders of the Synergy group.
During the year to 30 June 2006 the exceptional credit of £2.5 million related
to the release of the full provision for deferred consideration payable to the
previous shareholders of the Synergy group. Also, during the year to 30 June
2006 shares were issued to a minority interest in a subsidiary, Perfect
Information Limited, reducing Centaur's interest in this company and its
subsidiaries (the "PI group") by 3.94%. This has resulted in a reduction of
Centaur's share of the goodwill relating to the PI group and a charge to the
income statement of £0.3m.
6. Statement of changes in shareholders' equity
6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended
31 December 31 December 30 June
2006 2005 2006
£m £m £m
-----------------------------------------------
At 1 July 157.9 148.6 148.6
Treasury shares purchased (0.4) - -
Share options - value of employee services 0.2 0.2 0.4
Deferred tax taken directly to equity 0.1 0.1 0.2
Profit for the period 3.0 4.0 11.4
Dividends (3.6) (1.8) (2.7)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At 31 December 157.2 151.1 157.9
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Cash flow from operating activities
Cash generated from operations
6 months ended 6 months ended Year ended
31 December 31 December 2005 30 June
2006 2006
£m £m £m
-----------------------------------------------
Profit for the period 3.0 4.0 11.4
Adjustments for:
Tax 0.8 0.9 3.7
Depreciation 0.4 0.3 0.7
Loss on disposal of goodwill - - 0.3
Amortisation of intangibles 1.3 1.0 2.1
Interest income (0.1) (0.2) (0.3)
Share of associates' profit - (0.1) (0.1)
Share option charge 0.2 0.2 0.4
Changes in working capital (excluding effects
of acquisitions and disposals of
subsidiaries)
Increase in inventories (1.1) (0.6) (0.2)
Decrease / (increase) in trade and other receivables 0.1 1.0 (2.0)
Increase in payables 0.6 0.7 0.9
Decrease in provisions - (2.0) (2.5)
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Cash generated from operations 5.2 5.2 14.4
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Friday, 17th May 2024
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