The group expects to announce adjusted pre-tax profit of not less than £64m, compared to £55.5m for the previous year. It has seen no material impact on full year results from the financial market turmoil and advertising revenues in the important September trading period have held up well.
Net debt is expected to be around £180m, compared to £202m at the half year.
The group has been shifting its focus to subscription revenues and at the half year these made up 37% of overall revenues, compared to 30% in 2003. Advertising has fallen from 34% of revenues to just 18%. Emerging markets have also continued their strong performance. In the first half of the year, emerging market revenues saw growth of 25%, compared to a 4% decline from the UK and North America.
Shares in Euromoney rose just 0.25p to 333.25p. They now trade on around 9x earnings. The market doesn’t like its debt levels despite its strong operational performance. It is also unconvinced that Euromoney can remain immune from the financial market turmoil and advertising slowdown. The shares have halved from their highs and seem to have found their floor, remaining largely flat since the start of the year. However, it is difficult to see what would make them climb higher from here, short of a change in the economic climate.