Centaur Media remains on track despite comparative revenue dip

In the six months to 30 June, Centaur Media’s revenues grew to £38.8m, up 14.5% from the same period last year, but comparable revenues, which consider the impact of the biannual AMS exhibition and other factors, showed a drop of 2.8%.

Centaur Media’s lower comparative revenues also reflect lower premium content and consultancy sales, primarily at its Econsultancy and Oystercatchers brands.

Andria Vidler, chief executive of Centaur Media, said: "Centaur has made a solid start to the year with a good contribution from MarketMakers and The Lawyer continuing to be successful in generating premium content revenues."

New acquisition MarketMakers saw revenue growth of 10%, while The Lawyer’s premium content behind a pay-wall has had continued uptake, increasing subscription sizes and upping premium content revenues by 17% to £1.3m.

Aside from this, the FTSE Fledgling traded company swung to a profit after taxation, raking in £0.5m compared to a loss of £0.9m the previous year.

The company’s cash has fallen from £4.1m at the end of 2017 to £1.8m at 30 June 2018 and the board has elected to maintain the interim dividend at 1.5p.

"Strong forward bookings from our major events coupled with product launches in the second half from Econsultancy and Celebrity Intelligence, give the board confidence that Centaur's full-year performance will meet its expectations for earnings growth. We are continuing to take the steps to transform Centaur into a more resilient and focused business," said Vidler.

Centaur Media’s shares were down 2.55% to 45.80p at 1457 BST.