Profits Up 40% At EMAP

EMAP’s preliminary results for the year ending 31 March 1997 were released today. They show that pre-tax profits for the group were up 40% to £121 million. The operating profit margin was up 2.8% to 16.4%. The final dividend has been set at 8.7p. The sale of its newspaper businesses allowed the group to significantly reduce its net debt from £350 million to £89 million.

Commenting on the results, chairman, Sir John Hoskyns said: “During the year we focused attention on integrating the major acquisitions made in 1995 to 1996 and have concentrated our investment resources on stepping up our launch programme and adding a number of small bolt-on acquisitions.” The purchases referred to include Telestar SA and Metro Radio.

The consumer magazine division continued its strong performance, with full year profits rising 15% to £44.8 million. The division benefited from a reduction in paper prices and an increase in advertising revenue, which accelerated strongly during the year to show an underlying increase of 11%. The business communications division also saw its profits increase, rising by 18% to £30.3 million. This was helped by the success of Internet Magazine and Network Week.

Operating profits for the radio division were 40% ahead of last year at £20.4 million. After a strong first quarter, underlying advertising revenues fell back in the summer, but recovered well in the last quarter. Sponsorship and promotions is proving more stable and represents a growing proportion of total revenue. Emap Radio plans to launch its own in-house national sales company to serve London agencies and their clients later this year.

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