Interim Results - Amendment

ITE Group PLC
23 May 2000


 


The issuer has made the following amendment to the Interim Results
announcement released 23rd May 2000 at 07:00 under RNS No 0193L.

The paragraph headed DIVIDENDS - Dividends will be payable to shareholders on 
the register on 5 June 2000 and not 5 July 2000 as previously stated.

All other details remain unchanged.

The full corrected version is shown below.
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                    ITE GROUP PLC

                   INTERIM RESULTS
       FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 MARCH 2000


ITE Group Plc, an international exhibitions specialist, is
pleased to announce its Interim Results for the six
months ended 31 March 2000

Key points:

-    Turnover of £13.8m
  
-    Profit before amortisation of goodwill,
     restructuring costs and tax up 44% to £3.75m
  
-    Headline diluted earnings per share up 30% to 1.3p
  
-    Interim dividend of 0.5p per share
  
-    £41 million of acquisitions completed in the period
  
-    115 trades exhibitions and conferences organised in
     the period
  
-    Continuation of acquisition programme in Central
     Asia, the Far East, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia
     and the CIS.


Lawrie Lewis, Chairman, commented :

'ITE has an exciting future.  We have established
ourselves as the leading exhibition organiser in a number
of emerging markets and our shows are benefiting from
considerable cross-selling opportunities.  The Board is
confident that the full year will show continued progress
and  acquisitions and joint ventures completed this year
will give us a unique geographical network to exploit
significant growth for all our exhibitions.'

For further information, please contact:

ITE Group plc                                    020 7596 5000
Lawrie Lewis

Buchanan Communications                          020 7466 5000
Richard Oldworth / Isabel Petre


CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT


RESULTS

I am pleased to report that the Group has continued its
growth record in earnings for the interim period ended 31
March 2000. Turnover directly attributable to the Group
was £13.782 million (1999: £13.425 million) and profit
before tax, goodwill, minority interests and
restructuring costs was £3.755 million (1999: £2.608
million). Net assets of the group have increased to
£28.74 million (1999: £13.125 million) due to the
capitalisation of goodwill on acquisitions as well as the
issue of new equity as consideration for acquisitions.

ACQUISITIONS

Our strategy of growth by acquisitions has continued in
the current financial year  and to date we have concluded
the following acquisitions and joint ventures:

ACG & ITF (50%)   Exhibition organiser in Cairo, Egypt
                 
Incheba Prague    Exhibition organiser in Prague, Czech
(50%)             Republic
                 
ITF (50%)         Exhibition organiser in Istanbul,
                  Turkey
                 
Coneco (50%)      Building and construction exhibition
                  in Bratislava, Slovakia
                 
Comtek            9 trade exhibitions in Moscow, Russia
                 
EUF               2 trade exhibitions in Istanbul,
                  Turkey
                 
DXCEC (46%)       Joint venture in Dalian, China
                 
PSA (50%)         Joint venture in Singapore
                 
E-Business        Trade exhibition in Birmingham, UK

The Group now organises over 350 trade exhibitions per
year with net exhibition space sold annualised at over
500,000 sq.ms. Our focus continues to be in emerging
markets with our largest markets being in Russia and
Turkey.  We have also just secured a five year agreement
until December 2005 for all our major products to be held
at the Expocentre in Moscow, Russia's premier exhibition
venue.

The acquisition of the E-Business show in the UK has
given us the opportunity to replicate this show in our
other markets and we have already announced E-Business
exhibitions and conferences in Russia,  Kazakhstan,
Turkey, Egypt and India.

INTERNET ACTIVITIES

We are progressing with our plan to launch a number of
business to business vertical portal sites through our
subsidiary b4bportals.com limited. These sites, projected
to go live by the end of August, will create tightly
focused online trade communities, where buyers and
sellers can engage in e-commerce and auctions,
communicate with each other and access information about
their sector. These portals will operate in geographical
markets where ITE currently has a physical presence,
leveraging off its extensive databases, both locally and
internationally, of exhibitors and visitors.

A final decision has not yet been made but the Board is
currently exploring the possibility of demerging
b4bportals.com into a separate public company.

DIVIDENDS

An interim dividend of 0.5p has been declared by the
Board, representing an increase of 4.2% over the interim
dividend declared in 1999. This will be payable on 10
July 2000 to shareholders on the register on 5 June 2000.
Shareholders can elect to take their dividend either in
cash or in new shares in ITE.

MANAGEMENT

Since the year end there have been certain changes to the
holding company Board. Darra Comyn has resigned as the
Financial Director and his role has been taken over by
Ian Tomkins, who has been Darra's deputy for over 18
months. Darra will remain as a consultant for a further
six months, which will ensure a seamless  transition.

I have taken over as Chief Executive from Steve
Monnington, who is going to return to his original
acquisition broking business but he will remain
associated with the Group looking for new acquisition
opportunities.

ITE is a fast moving company operating in a number of
different geographical markets with a network of strong
local partners, who still retain an equity interest in
their local operations.  Our management structure
reflects these characteristics with a recently formed
operational committee in London focusing on international
sales in the countries where our local partners operate
together with strict financial controls and reporting.
The unique strength of ITE is in its strong  local
presence, nurtured  through a combination of
decentralised management and centralised controls.

OUTLOOK

ITE has an exciting future.  We have established
ourselves as the leading exhibition organiser in a number
of emerging markets and our shows are benefiting from
considerable cross-selling opportunities. The Russian
economy is becoming more stable and, with the recent
acquisitions of the leading technology and food shows in
Moscow, we are well positioned to benefit from the
expected upturn. E-Business and B2B activities are a
major focus for ITE both in terms of physical exhibitions
and  online activities.

The Board is confident that the full year will show
continued progress  and  acquisitions and joint ventures
completed this year will give us a unique geographical
network to exploit significant growth for all our
exhibitions.


Lawrie Lewis
Chairman
Highlights


-    Turnover of £13.8 million

-    Profit before amortisation of goodwill,
     restructuring costs and tax of £3.75 million

-    Headline diluted earnings per share of 1.3p

-    Interim dividend of 0.5p per share

-    £41 million of acquisitions completed in the period

-    115  trade exhibitions and conferences organised in
     the period

-    Continuation of acquisition programme in Central
     Asia, the Far East, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia
     and the CIS.


Consolidated profit and loss account

                                  Six months  Six months        Year 
                                 to 31 March  to 31 March   ended 30
                                                           September
                                        2000        1999        1999
                          Notes    Unaudited   Unaudited     Audited
                          
                                       £'000       £'000       £'000
Turnover                                                            
Existing operations                   13,782      11,976      30,214
Acquisitions                               -       1,449       5,098
                                      13,782      13,425      35,312
Cost of sales                         (8,061)     (8,526)    (19,174)

Gross profit                           5,721       4,899      16,138

Other operating expenses              (3,521)     (2,975)     (6,990)
Other operating income                   699           -           -

Operating profit before                                             
amortisation of goodwill      3        2,899       1,924       9,148
Amortisation of goodwill                (708)        (53)       (244)

Operating profit                                                    
Existing operations                    1,492       1,557       7,679
Acquisitions                             699         314       1,225
                                       2,191       1,871       8,904
Share of associates'                     280           -         (48)
operating profit /
(loss)

Exceptional amounts           4            -           -      (2,340)
written off investments

Profit on ordinary                     2,471       1,871       6,516
activities before
interest

Interest receivable                      312         537         946

Profit on ordinary                     2,783       2,408       7,462
activities before
taxation

Taxation                              (1,078)      (806)      (2,976)

Profit on ordinary                      1,705      1,602       4,486
activities after                                        
taxation                                            

Minority Interests                       (74)       (50)        (115)

Profit for the financial                1,631     1,552        4,371
year                                                
Dividend                                 (950)     (760)      (2,256)          
      

Retained profit                          681         792       2,115
Earnings per share                                                  
Headline diluted              5         1.3p        1.0p        4.0p
Basic                         6         0.9p        1.0p        2.7p
Diluted                       7         0.9p        0.9p        2.6p



Consolidated balance sheet

                                      31 March  31 March   30 September
                                          2000      1999          1999
                            Notes    Unaudited Unaudited       Audited
                                         £'000     £'000         £'000
                                                                    
Fixed assets                                                        
Goodwill                                19,048     3,743       7,196
Tangible assets                          1,726     2,662       1,973
Associates                              28,614         -       1,904
Other investments                        3,265     2,871       1,041
                                        52,653     9,276      12,114
Current assets                                                      
Debtors                                 11,291    12,075      12,658
Cash at bank and in hand                 7,490    20,086      19,493
                                        18,781    32,161      32,151
Current liabilities                                                 
Creditors: amounts falling    8        (38,124)  (27,807)    (27,333)
due within one year

Net current (liabilities) /            (19,343)    4,354       4,818
assets

Total assets less current               33,310    13,630      16,932
liabilities

Creditors: amounts falling             (4,570)     (505)     (1,750)
due after more than one
year

Net assets                             28,740    13,125      15,182

Capital and reserves                                                
Called up share capital                 1,887     1,628       1,682

Share premium account                  23,354     7,328       9,978

Other reserves                          2,238     4,943       2,983

Profit and loss account                   724   (1,294)          48

Equity shareholders' funds             28,203    12,605      14,691

Minority interests                        537       520         491
                                                            
Total capital employed                 28,740    13,125      15,182



Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

                                  Six months          Six  Year Ended
                                 to 31 March    months to          30
                                                 31 March   September
                                        2000         1999        1999
                                   Unaudited    Unaudited     Audited
                                       £'000        £'000       £'000
                                                                    
Operating profit                       2,191        1,871      8,904
Depreciation charges                     229          146        355
Profit on sale of tangible                (6)        (152)      (227)
fixed assets
Profit on sale of own shares               -            -       (332)
Amortisation of goodwill                 708           53        218
Decrease in debtors                    1,021        4,753      7,400
Decrease in creditors                 (1,485)      (2,415)   (10,933)
                                                                    
Net cash inflow from operating         2,658        4,256      5,385
activities
                                                                    
Returns on investments and               312          537        946
servicing of finance

Taxation                               (604)         (80)    (1,880)

Capital expenditure and                (711)        1,593      2,753
financial investment

Acquisitions and disposals          (12,644)      (2,702)    (4,723)
Equity dividends paid                (1,309)        (931)    (1,461)
                                                                    
Cash (outflow) / inflow before      (12,298)        2,673     1,020
management of liquid resources
& financing

Management of liquid resources        12,878        (609)     4,194
Financing                                295      (1,018)      (567)
                                                                    
Increase in cash in the period           875        1,046     4,647


Notes

1.   The six months accounts have been prepared on the
     historical cost basis, are unaudited and do not
     constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of
     Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.

2.   The results for the year ended 30 September 1999
     have been extracted from the statutory accounts which
     have been reported on by the Group's auditors and have
     been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The
     auditors' report was unqualified and did not contain any
     statement under Section 237 (2) or (3) of the Companies
     Act 1985.

3.   Operating profit before amortisation of goodwill has
     been calculated after charging restructuring, redundancy
     and compensation for loss of office amounts of £264,000
     for the six month period to 31 March 2000 (Six months to
     31 March 1999: £147,000, Year ended 30 September 1999:
     £427,000).

4.   Exceptional amounts written off investments in the
     year ended 30 September 1999 relates to the full
     provision for the company's investment in Philip
     Johnstone Group Limited. This investment arose from the
     former activities of the Group and has no relationship to
     the Group's current business.

5.   Headline diluted earnings per share has been based
     on the profit for the financial year adjusted for
     amortisation of goodwill and exceptional items, divided
     by 179,588,000 ordinary shares allowing for the effect of
     all dilutive potential shares.

6.   Basic earnings per share has been based on the
     profit for the financial year divided by the weighted
     average of the number of shares in issue being
     172,909,000.

7.   Diluted earnings per share has been based on the
     profit for the financial year divided by 179,588,000
     ordinary shares allowing for the effect of all dilutive
     potential shares.

8.   Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
     include amounts representing deferred income of
     £16,920,000 (31 March 1999: £19,241,000, Year ended 30
     September 1999: £15,585,000).

9.   Copies of this document are being sent to
     Shareholders. Further copies are available from the
     Company's registered office.


INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO ITE GROUP Plc

Introduction
We have been instructed by the company to review the
financial information set out on pages 4 to 7 and 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 directors are
responsible for preparing the interim report in
accordance with the Listing
Rules of the Financial Services Authority and applicable
United Kingdom accounting standards.  The Listing Rules
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.

Review work performed
We conducted our review in accordance with guidance
contained in Bulletin 1999/4 issued in the United Kingdom
by the Auditing Practices Board and with our profession's
ethical guidance. 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 accounting policies and
presentation have been consistently applied unless
otherwise disclosed. 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 performed inaccordance with Auditing
Standards and therefore provides a lower level of
assurance than an audit. Accordingly we do not express an
audit opinion on the financial information.

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 March 2000.



Arthur Andersen
Chartered Accountants

20 Old Bailey
London
EC4M 7AN

23 May 2000