DAILY MAIL & GENERAL TRUST PLC - Pre Close Trading Update
PR Newswire
London, September 24
25 September 2013
Daily Mail and General Trust plc (`DMGT')
Pre Close Trading Update
Ahead of the year end on 30 September 2013, this statement provides an update
on the Group's progress in the current year. It covers the eleven month period
to the end of August 2013 and includes comments on September.
Summary
- Solid Group revenue performance, up 2% underlying#
- Good revenue growth from B2B operations, up 6% underlying#
- Resilient revenue performance at dmg media, down 2% underlying#
- Active portfolio management; targeted acquisitions and non-core
asset disposals
- Share buy back programme of £69 million to date
- Net debt/EBITDA ratio expected to be less than 2.0 at year end
- Full Year guidance unchanged and in line with market expectations~
Revenue Growth v Prior Year Reported Underlying#
11 months to August 2013
Group revenue+ -8% +2%
B2B (including Euromoney) +6% +6%
RMS +7% +6%
dmg information +15% +11%
dmg events -2% +11%
dmg media -6% -2%
Business to Business (B2B)
- Risk Management Solutions (RMS) delivered continued growth driven
by its core business in catastrophic risk modelling. RMS(one) remains on
schedule to be launched in April 2014.
- Strong growth at dmg information with good performance across all
sectors; double digit underlying growth delivered by Hobsons, Genscape and our
property information companies.
- dmg events performed as expected, with an underlying revenue
increase of 11%. The reduction in reported revenue is due to the sale of
Evanta in September 2012.
- Continued solid performance from Euromoney Institutional
Investor, which released its trading update yesterday.
Consumer
Revenue Growth v Prior Year Reported Underlying#
11 months to August 2013 H1 Q3 July & YTD H1 Q3 July & YTD
August^ August^
dmg media -7% -6% -6% -6% -2% 0% -3% -2%
Advertising -4% -5% -7% -5% +2% +2% -5% +1%
Circulation -6% -5% -3% -5% -5% -3% 0% -4%
- dmg media's year to date underlying# circulation revenues are
down 4% as the benefit of February's weekday cover price increase was offset
by lower volumes. Encouragingly, however, underlying circulation revenues
during July and August were in line with last year and the Daily Mail achieved
an improved market share of 22.1% in August*.
Total year to date underlying# advertising revenues were up 1%,
with newspapers down 8%, newspaper companion websites (mainly MailOnline) up
45%, and other digital advertising (largely Evenbase and Wowcher) up 21%.
MailOnline's monthly unique browsers in August stood at a record 138 million,
up 30% on last year. Average daily unique browsers were 9.0 million, an
increase of 36% on last year, reflecting higher levels of engagement with the
site.
During July, August and September 2013, year on year advertising
comparisons were adversely impacted by the Olympics and Paralympics taking
place during 2012. Total underlying# advertising revenues were down 5% in July
and August and, for the four weeks since 25 August 2013, were down 11% on last
year.
Group
Portfolio management activity continued during the year with
bolt-on acquisitions at dmg information (First Search, Vessel Tracker,
Edumate, Beat the GMAT and National Transcript Center) and Euromoney (TTI
Vanguard, Centre for Investor Education and Insider Publishing). Acquisitions
have used £94 million of cash in the eleven months to August, including £11
million purchasing Euromoney shares. Disposals have included Northcliffe Media
and dmg media's central and eastern European operations and disposal proceeds
have totalled £95 million. The amount spent on the DMGT share buy back programme to
date is £69 million. The year end net debt:EBITDA ratio is expected to be less
than 2.0.
Full year guidance remains unchanged as confirmed at the recent B2B
Investor Briefing held on 5 September 2013. We expect our adjusted results to
be in line with market expectations~.
RCL Ordinary Shares acquisition: on 14 August 2013, the Independent
Directors of DMGT and the Directors of Rothermere Continuation Limited (RCL)
announced that RCL would make an offer for the remaining 10.8% of Ordinary
Shares not held by RCL. The Independent Directors of DMGT support the terms of
the Offer, having been advised by Lazard that it is fair and reasonable. The
share buy back programme has been on hold since 1 July 2013, due to the
Company being subject to an Offer under the City Code.
For further information
For analyst and institutional enquiries:
Stephen Daintith, Finance Director +44 20 3615 2902
Adam Webster, Head of Management Information
and Investor Relations +44 20 3615 2903
For media enquiries:
Kim Fletcher / Charlie Potter, Brunswick Group +44 20 7404 5959
Conference call
A conference call will be held with City analysts at 8.00 am on 25
September 2013. The dial-in number is +44 (0) ; conference code:
59085656. A replay of the call will be available on DMGT's website at
www.dmgt.com.
Next trading update
The Group's next scheduled announcement of financial information
will be its preliminary results for the year ended 30 September 2013, which
will be released on the morning of Thursday 21 November 2013.
About DMGT
DMGT is an international business built on entrepreneurship and innovation. We
bring together leading companies and talented people to provide businesses and
consumers with high-quality analysis & insight, information, news and
entertainment.
Notes
+ Northcliffe Media, which was disposed of at the end of December
2012, is included in Group reported revenues up to the date of its sale.
Excluding Northcliffe Media, year to date reported revenues were in line with
last year.
# Underlying revenue is revenue on a like for like basis, adjusted
for constant exchange rates, disposals, closures, non-annual events occurring
in the current and prior year and, with the exception of Euromoney,
acquisitions. For dmg events, the comparisons are between events held in the
year and the same events held the previous time, and exclude Evanta. For
Euromoney, underlying revenue excludes biennial events that did not occur this
year. For dmg media, underlying comparisons exclude the discontinued low
margin contract printing of the Evening Standard, the effects of the sale of
Teletext Holidays and motors.co.uk last year, the disposal of the central and
eastern European businesses this year, and the merger of the Digital Property
Group and Zoopla at the end of May 2012, and include the organic growth from
Jobrapido. Northcliffe Media is excluded from the DMGT Group underlying
comparisons.
~ Current City analyst expectations of adjusted profit before tax
for 2013 range from £259 million to £282 million and adjusted earnings per
share from 50.1 pence to 55.0 pence with a consensus of £270 million and 52.1
pence. Adjusted results are from continuing and discontinued operations and
are before exceptional items, impairment of goodwill and intangible assets,
and amortisation of intangible assets arising on business combinations.
^ References to July and August are to the eight weeks to 25 August
2013.
* Daily Mail 22.1%, compared to 21.7% last year and The Mail on
Sunday 21.0% compared to 20.5% last year. Circulation market share figures are
calculated using ABC's August 2012 and August 2013 National Newspapers
Reports.
The average £:$ exchange rate for the eleven months was £1:$1.56
(against £1:$1.57 in the same period last year). The rate as at 23 September
2013 was $1.60 compared to the 30 September 2012 year end rate of $1.62.
DMGT's estimated weighted average number of shares in issue, after
deducting shares held in Treasury, for the full year is 377.5 million (2012:
382.8 million). The total number of shares in issue, after deducting shares
held in Treasury, is currently 373.2 million.
This trading update is prepared for and addressed only to the
Group's shareholders as a whole and to no other person. The Group, its
Directors, employees, agents or advisers do not accept or assume
responsibility to any other person to whom this document is shown or into
whose hands it may come and any such responsibility or liability is expressly
disclaimed. Statements contained in this document are based on the knowledge
and information available to the Group's Directors at the date it was prepared
and therefore the facts stated and views expressed may change after that date.
By their nature, the statements concerning the risks and uncertainties facing
the Group in this document involve uncertainty since future events and
circumstances can cause results and developments to differ materially from
those anticipated. To the extent that this document contains any statement
dealing with any time after the date of its preparation such statement is
merely predictive and speculative as it relates to events and circumstances
which are yet to occur. The Group undertakes no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements.
No statement in this document is intended as a profit forecast or a
profit estimate and no statement in this document should be interpreted to
mean that earnings per DMGT share for the current or future financial years
would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per DMGT
share.
This document does not constitute or form part of any offer or
invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or
subscribe for any securities. The making of this document does not constitute
a recommendation regarding any securities.
Daily Mail and General Trust plc
Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street,
London, W8 5TT
www.dmgt.com
Registered in England and Wales No. 184594