UBM interim profit rises, sees little impact from Brexit

UBM reiterated its trading outlook for the full year on Friday as it posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit and said it stands to benefit from the stronger dollar.

For the six months ended 30 June, pre-tax profit rose to £51.8m from £35.1m in the first half of last year as revenue increased to £380m from £351.8m.

The company said it received £530.1m from the disposal of PR Newswire and £2.1m from the disposal of the Janus investment, a legacy French print magazine business.

Chief executive officer Tim Cobbold said: “The sale of PRN was the final major step in the transformation of UBM into a focused events business, following which more than 80% of revenues are now generated from Events. Going forward UBM's performance will increasingly reflect the attractive characteristics of the events industry, and we continue to see high-quality acquisition opportunities to strengthen further the portfolio.

“Our performance in the first half was in line with our expectations and the business is well-positioned for a strong second half. Good progress continues to be made in the execution of the Events First strategy.”

As far as Brexit is concerned, the group said that with more than 80% of its revenues generated in the US and emerging markets and less than 10% from the UK, it expects little direct impact and a benefit from the stronger dollar.

“Our trading outlook for the year remains unchanged, with further FX benefits expected."

At 0935 BST, UBM shares were up 2.9% to 650p.