(Alliance News) -Â Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC on Thursday reported a fall in interim profit as the pandemic hit physical events, though the FTSE 250-listed company still declared a dividend for the half-year.
Euromoney shares were up 4.2% to 995.01 pence in London Thursday morning.
Revenue for the half-year to March 31 fell 17% to GBP155.5 million from GBP186.3 million year-on-year, while the London-based business media and events firm's pretax profit dropped 53% to GBP17.5 million.
The revenue drop reflected good underlying subscriptions growth in Pricing and in Data & Market Intelligence, the firm said, but was offset as Covid-19 hit physical events.
Events revenue, which accounted for 17% of group sales in the half, dropped 60%, reflecting a reduction in physical events versus the same period a year ago, which was free of Covid-related disruption. Euromoney managed to host 206 virtual events during the period, however, and plans to resume physical events in the second half, subject to virus restrictions.
The company declared an interim dividend of 5.7p per share, versus none a year ago, reflecting its "strong balance sheet, cash generative nature of the business and confidence in the future."
Looking ahead, the company said: "We expect physical events to return but the exact timing is uncertain, and it will vary by geography. In the second half of 2021 we are planning to host physical events though they will be regional and national rather than international events. We expect events revenue to be about GBP40 million in the second half of 2021, however if physical events do not return, events revenue will be similar to the first half of 2021. We have identified cost mitigation measures to limit the impact of any cancellations on the 2021 profit outturn."
By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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