UBM leaves expectations unchanged despite fashion and pharma 'softness'

The FTSE 250 firm said the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem, CBME, Furniture China, World Routes and Black Hat shows all performed strongly in the third quarter.

In October, CPhI Worldwide and its co-located pharma events also delivered a strong performance, and although the Fashion sector declined, the board said it was broadly in line with expectations.

The integration of Allworld was progressing to plan, it added, and performance continued to be ahead of the business case.

Life Sciences, the majority of which is in the ‘other marketing services’ (OMS) category, continued to experience “softness” as the industry adapted to changing market conditions in North America, UBM reported, with drug approvals also remaining slow.

“Since the half year, two bolt-on acquisitions have been made in the fast-growing renewable energy and medical aesthetics sectors, both at attractive multiples,” the board reported.

“Total spend on bolt-on acquisitions in the year to date is £13.4m.”

It said the pipeline remained “good”, with further deals expected to close before the end of the year.

“During the period a small portfolio of UK assets was disposed of for £3.2m and further small disposals are being negotiated.”

Given the strength of the recent trading performance and notwithstanding the impact of more recent foreign exchange movements, UBM’s board said it was “confident” of a full year outturn at least in line with its expectations, as it indicated in its interim results.

“The board has concluded its review of the dividend policy,” it added.

“The updated policy, which will apply from 2018, is to pay a progressive dividend centred around 2x cover through economic and biennial cycles and taking into consideration impact from currency movements.”