Analysts at ABN Amro have reappraised their outlook of VNU, the Anglo-Dutch publishing group, after its stock has fallen more than 40% in the last twelve months.
The broker says that VNU has substantially altered its business mix over recent months, moving away from the volatile advertising-dependent activities such as consumer publishing and toward the more ‘defensive’ areas of media business like market research and directories. ABN says that VNU has made this transition with ‘near-perfect’ timing.
Although many of the benefits of this shift have been offset by a business to business (B2B) advertising downturn (and visibility remains low), ABN believes that forecasts are conservative and that 2002 should offer underlying double-digit growth for VNU.
VNU’s shares currently stand at E29, a 15% discount on its publishing peer group. ABN has set a 12-month target of E37 and has an Add rating on the on the company.
