Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 8149J

St. Ives PLC

18 June 2014

 



18 June 2014

St Ives plc

Interim Management Statement

St Ives plc, the UK's leading marketing services and print group, is today publishing its Interim Management Statement covering the period from 1 February 2014 to date.

Group revenue for the seventeen week period to 30 May 2014 was £106.8 million, 7.5% higher than for the equivalent period in the previous financial year. This increase was primarily due to both organic and acquisition growth across our Marketing Services segment of 6.4% and 37.8% respectively.

We continue to benefit from our repositioning strategy as we build a range of added value marketing services whilst exiting the commoditised print markets. Group operating margin has improved versus the prior year and should continue to do so as the revenue mix changes in line with our strategy. 

Marketing Services

Revenue and operating profit across the Marketing Services segment for the seventeen week period ending 30 May 2014 were significantly ahead of the equivalent period last year with all businesses within the segment delivering a strong performance. We are very pleased with the recent acquisitions of Realise Digital (a digital marketing business acquired March 2014) and Hive Health (a healthcare communications business acquired May 2014), both of which are being successfully integrated into the Group.

Print

Revenue across the Print segment for the seventeen week period ended 30 May 2014 was lower than the equivalent period last year, due primarily to the sale of the Group's direct mail printing business in October 2013. On a like-for-like basis, excluding the effect of the disposal, revenue grew by 7.9%. Our focus continues to be on ensuring we target new print business where service and quality are important requirements, rather than commoditised volumes which are differentiated on price alone.

We have successfully restructured our print operations and will continue to invest in the remaining businesses to improve the range and quality of the services we offer to our customers.

Group

St Ives' financial position remains strong and we are very pleased with the progress we have made to reposition the Group in what has been a challenging trading environment. The Group is well placed to continue improving its financial performance through investment for organic growth and targeted acquisitions to further expand our marketing services offering.   

Ends

For further information contact:

St Ives plc Patrick Martell, Chief Executive Matt Armitage, Chief Financial Officer	020 7928 8844
MHP Communications John Olsen Giles Robinson	020 3128 8100

 

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