14 Aug 2009 11:20
VITESSE MEDIA PLC
("Vitesse Media" or the "Company")
Result of AGM
At the Company's AGM today all resolutions were duly passed and Sara Williams, Executive Chairman, made the following statement:
'I am pleased to be able to tell shareholders that the position of the Company appears to be improving. Despite the very savage downturn in our financial and business markets, the management team has been able to use its experience to reduce costs, both direct and overhead, and this will show through in the half year to 31 July in much reduced losses. After a difficult period, March to May, I am also happy to report that the business performed ahead of budget in both June and July.
However, it is still too early to be able to say with great confidence that we can see an upturn in activities, although I can report that for the early autumn forward booking for our business titles, Business XL, SmallBusiness.co.uk and GrowthBusiness.co.uk, is ahead of last year by over 15%. However, there is lower visibility for two other advertising titles, Information Age and particularly for What Investment. The Information Age sales team, though, is reporting an increase in activity in terms of proposals requested than earlier this year and it is important to note that the title is still taking around half of all display ads, compared to its competition.
I am also happy to tell you that the full benefit of restructuring and cost savings will come through only in the second half of our financial year.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind shareholders of the core strengths of their business which we have built in recent years. These are:
Wide reach - We reach over 1 million entrepreneurs and CEOs, and their advisers, investors and suppliers each month
Established premium brands - all of Vitesse's brands are either already market leaders or pressing for the market leadership position, with a key attribute of recognised quality
Unique intellectual property assets within the sector - client and marketing lists, brand content and archives built up over 11 years, in an integrated online environment
Sustainable revenue - dominance within the segment has meant that online revenues have remained robust during this downturn (now accounting for over one-third of the group's revenues), subscriptions have held up well, and the strongly branded events have shown resilience with sponsorship renewal as they are developed year on year
Strong well-established management team - there is a strong management team that has worked together for many years and understands the market well. The editorial team has won many awards for the quality of its research and writing
Substantial business development potential - there are substantial organic business development opportunities within the current brands as well as consolidation opportunities within the sector.
Full details of our results and a comprehensive update on performance and outlook will be given in our interim figures, which will be announced in September.'
Enquiries:
Vitesse Media Plc Sara Williams +44 20 7250 4010Leslie Copeland
Seymour Pierce Ltd
Nandita Sahgal +44 207 107 8000