David Levin, Chief Executive Officer, UBM said:

“UBM performed well in the first quarter. We were particularly pleased by the performance of our Events businesses, most notably Game Developers Conference and Ecobuild in its first edition under UBM ownership. PR Newswire has had a solid start to the year with subdued growth in the US partially offset by international growth, notably in China. Data Services revenues were lower than anticipated, largely reflecting phasing factors which we expect will unwind through the year. As expected, UBM’s online Marketing Services revenues exceeded Print revenues for a full reporting period for the first time."

"Overall we are on track for the full year. Based on trading conditions so far, we now expect that underlying growth for Events will be in the range of 10% - 12%, but this will offset slower growth in PR volumes and advertising activity, particularly in print magazines.  We now expect growth in both PR Newswire and Marketing Services to come in at the lower end of our guidance ranges. Although conditions in a number of our markets remain challenging, and year-on-year comparisons will get tougher as the year progresses, the business is performing well, and we maintain our consolidated guidance for 2012.”

Note: Adjusted operating profit is group operating profit excluding amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisitions, exceptional items and share of taxation on profit from joint ventures and associates. 

Events

•    Q1 Event revenues were up 46.4% to £123.1m (Q1 2011: £84.1m); underlying growth was 19.3%

•    Major Q1 events contributing to strong performance included the first edition of Ecobuild under UBM ownership, Game Developers Conference, Sign China and Enterprise Connect, which all showed strong double digit growth

•    Q1 adjusted operating profit was £42.4m (Q1 2011: £27.7m) representing an operating margin of 34.4% (Q1 2011: 32.9%)

•    Forward bookings, as at 31 March 2012, of our 2011 top 20 events running in the next 12 months are up 11.0% compared to last year

•    Based on the strong first quarter, we now expect that underlying growth for Events for the full year will be in the range of 10% - 12%, slightly higher than previously anticipated; full year margin guidance remains unchanged

 
PR Newswire

•    Q1 PR Newswire’s revenues rose 4.5% to £49.0m (Q1 2011: £46.9m); underlying growth was 2.0%

•    Growth in the US has been subdued in Q1 2012 reflecting slow growth in the press release distribution market, and lower than anticipated transaction volumes affecting demand for Vintage financial filing and printing services

•    Slower US growth was partially offset by good increases in PR Newswire’s international businesses

•    Q1 adjusted operating profit at £9.9m was even with the prior year; operating margin declined to 20.2% (Q1 2011: 21.1%)

•    We now project that 2012 PR Newswire’s underlying revenue growth will be at the low end of our guidance range of 3% - 5%. Quarterly reported results are volatile, as they reflect estimates in expense accruals as well as phasing and business mix, and we will continue to manage PR Newswire’s cost base in line with market conditions; full year margin guidance remains unchanged

Data Services

•    Data Services revenues fell 9.0% to £50.6m (Q1 2011: £55.6m); underlying decline was 4.1%

•    The decrease was driven principally by lower sales in Technology & IP and continued declines in Trade & Transport

•    Healthcare revenues were stable (the 2012 Vidal directory has been published, with revenues in line with expectations)

•    Trade & Transport was down due mainly to continued declines in Transport data directory revenues and competitive pressure in the Transport digital market. Trade revenue (mainly PIERS) increased over the same period last year

•    Technology & IP revenue was significantly down relative to a strong Q1 2011.  While TechInsight’s orders from larger customers in the US and Japan have been lower than prior year, orders in March 2012 were higher than in 2011 and we expect renewed growth in IP campaigns for the balance of the year

•    Adjusted operating profit for Data Services was £11.1m (Q1 2011: £12.5m) representing an operating margin of 21.9% (Q1 2011: 22.5%) 

•    Notably, margin for each of the Data Services verticals was flat or higher relative to Q1 2011 with the exception of Technology & IP, where the reduction in margin reflects phasing

•    We reiterate full year revenue and margin guidance for Data Services

Marketing Services – Online & Print

•    Combined Marketing Services – Online & Print revenues fell 18.7% to £41.5m (Q1 2011: £51.1m); underlying decline was 2.8%

•    The decline in reported revenues principally reflects the impact of the previously reported disposals (noted below)

•    Print revenues were down by 37.5% to £19.6m (Q1 2011: £31.4m), with underlying revenues down 13.4%, a somewhat faster decline than anticipated

•    Online revenues however rose 11.2% to £21.9m (Q1 2011: £19.7m), with underlying revenues up 7.8% reflecting consistent demand for webcasts, lead generation programs and sponsored community sites – especially from our large technology clients via our top tier brands

•    Overall year to date online revenues exceeded print revenues

•    Q1 Marketing Services combined adjusted operating profit was £(2.7)m (Q1 2011: £(1.9)m) representing an operating margin of (6.5)% (Q1 2011: (3.7)%)

•    We now project full year growth for Marketing Services – Online and Print will be towards the low end of our guidance of 2% – 4%; we anticipate that print advertising revenue will likely continue to decline although online growth will improve later in the year; full year margin guidance remains unchanged

Portfolio changes
Acquisitions completed in the first quarter were:

•    Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF), an export-oriented furniture tradeshow held annually in Kuala Lumpur

•    China International Exhibition & Symposium on Dental Equipment, Technology & Products (Dentech China), China’s leading dental industry exhibition

•    Airport Cities Exhibitions & Conferences (ACE).  ACE is a peripatetic annual event which focuses on airport commercial activities and land use, the development of airport cities and the associated urban planning issues

•    4G World, the largest independent telecoms and wireless event serving the US market

These acquired businesses generated proforma 2011 revenues of £9.1m in aggregate.  Consideration totalled £18.1m in cash and further contingent and deferred consideration is expected to be in the region of £3.4m.

During the first quarter we closed the previously reported divestitures of UBM’s UK agriculture and medical general practitioner portfolios including Farmers Guardian, and the merger of UBM’s Belgian medical print activities into a joint venture.

In March 2012, we sold CME LLC, a US based provider of continuing medical education programmes for clinicians, which included the US Psychiatric & Mental Health Congress.

Debt
•    UBM’s consolidated net debt stood at £502.0m as at 31 March 2012 (31 December 2011: £526.4m)

Foreign exchange rates
•    All constant currency or underlying calculations are based on average FX rates for the first quarter:

-    Ends -

Media contacts       

Peter Bancroft, Director of Communications

communications@ubm.com

+44 20 7921 5961

Chris Barrie, Citigate Dewe Rogerson

chris.barrie@citigatedr.co.uk

+44 20 7282 2943

Investor Relations contacts       

James Davies, Acting Head of Investor Relations

james.davies@ubm.com

+44 20 7921 5963

James O’Shaughnessy, IR Manager

investorrelations@ubm.com

+44 20 7921 5943