Centaur Media shares slump on profit warning

Shares in events and marketing business Centaur Media were sharply lower early on Thursday after it said ongoing challenges in the marketing sector had weighed on earnings throughout H2.

Centaur Media said marketing sector headwinds caused by macroeconomic challenges had continued to drive restructurings in the marketing functions of many blue-chip customers of its Xeim arm, leading to the curtailment of marketing budgets and reduced spend.

"The prolonged impact of these challenges is materially reducing revenue and profit during the second half of 2024," said Centaur.

Centaur said full-year underlying earnings will decline as a result of the impact of the high operational gearing on Xeim's lower revenue and a change in revenue mix. EBITDA will also be lower than last year due to the 2024 planned £1.3m investment in product, marketing and resources set out in its BIG27 strategy.

"The board now expects the company to achieve revenue of at least £34.0m in 2024, at an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 15%, which is significantly below the current analyst consensus range. This revised expectation will also impact our revenue and profit expectations in 2025," added the group.

Separately, Centaur named Martin Rowland as its next chairman, with effect from 28 October.

As of 1045 BST, Centaur shares had sunk 20.82% to 24.15p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com