Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 8281E

Wilmington Group Plc

16 May 2013

 



16 May 2013

Wilmington Group plc

Interim Management Statement

Wilmington Group, the provider of Information, Compliance, and Education to professional markets presents its Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 January 2013 to the date of this statement incorporating the Group's third quarter trading period to 31 March 2013.

Trading Review

The trading environment remains as reported in our interim results statement on 26 February 2013.  As expected, revenue during the period from 1 January 2013 to the end of April 2013 is in line with the same four month period last year. Revenue from disposed businesses and discontinued marginal events has been offset by organic growth from our core businesses and revenues from acquired businesses.  We have continued to see good growth in operating profits and improved operating margins across all the business divisions except, as previously reported, Business Intelligence which is impacted inter alia by the exiting of contract directory publishing.

The Group's third quarter trading was satisfactory, in line with the Board's expectations, with the continued emphasis on investing in and developing growth areas whilst removing underperforming marginal events.  Across the divisions we have seen a continuation of the trading patterns reported at the interims.

Our higher margin Banking & Compliance, Pensions & Insurance businesses remain resilient with good renewals and revenue growth. On 1 March 2013, the Pensions & Insurance Division acquired the leading Spanish insurance market information business; Inese. The integration has gone well and March saw a successful contribution from the Inese flagship event; Insurance week.

Within the Healthcare division, reductions in sales of low margin UK mailing services and continued signs of uncertainty over recent NHS changes are affecting sales at the margin. This was offset by growth from its French medical news agency business. On 5 February 2013, the division acquired NHiS, a highly complementary provider of business intelligence on the UK healthcare market. NHiS has been integrated into the Group's systems and collaborative activities with other Wilmington Group companies have commenced.

As previously indicated, Business Intelligence's revenue has been adversely affected by the impact of exiting contract publishing.

The Accountancy division had a successful March trading month; its biggest and most important period, helped by demand surrounding the UK Government's annual fiscal budget.

As planned, the Legal Division revenue has been trimmed through a combination of removal of marginal events and the impact of the disposal of our Companies Formation business in June 2012.

Cash flow is strong and debt is reducing according to plan. During the period we utilised part of our £65m debt facility to acquire two businesses; NHiS in February and Inese in March 2013 for a net £5.0m and €1.4m respectively. As at the end of April 2013 our net debt was £37.6m (April 2012 £39.3m).

Outlook

The outlook for the full financial year remains unchanged and in line with the Board's expectations.  Whilst economic conditions remain challenging, the majority of our businesses have been resilient and our internationally focussed divisions are still generating good growth.  This growth, alongside contributions from our two recent acquisitions, and cost savings from initiatives already implemented, will help us achieve our full year expectations.

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For further information, please contact:

Wilmington Group Plc   Charles Brady, Chief Executive Tony Foye, Finance Director FTI Consulting Charles Palmer

020 7422 6800 020 7831 3113

Notes to Editors

Wilmington Group plc is one of the UK's leading providers of Information, Compliance and Education for professional business markets. The Group provides business intelligence, information, training, education, events and support services for a variety of markets including the accountancy, banking, charities, financial services, healthcare, insurance, legal, and pensions sectors. Capitalised at approximately £135 million, Wilmington floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1995.

 

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