Porta Communications looks at strong second half

Porta Communications was reporting a strong second half on Wednesday, with some sizeable earnings growth amid the shuttering of a number of operations.

The AIM-traded company said gross profit was almost £2.5m higher than in the same period in 2014, despite the closure of the Brussels and Frankfurt officers.

Reported EBITDA more than doubled on the year, the company claimed, while headline EBITDA was up over 40% in the second half, for a full year gain of nearly 17%.

Porta Communications' exceptional costs were high, primarily closures and redundancy costs, following the implementation of a management programme to close non-performing companies and account groups.

"On the trading front, Newgate Australia continues to be one of the star performers, although the weakness of the Australian dollar has hit the EBITDA line by more than £110,000", the company's board said.

Newgate Hong Kong enjoyed a very solid year, with EBITDA margina of over 35%, it added.

"Elsewhere, Redleaf Communications has enjoyed a record 12 months in its first full year as part of Porta, while Publicasity has performed really well under its new management team", the board continued.

Porta's prospects for the current year were looking "very exciting", with the company pointing to its internal changes and high quality of recent senior recruits.

The firm was looking at high levels of new business and buoyant opportunities, it said, with a number of potential acquisitions on the cards.