CLL.L Regulatory News (CLL)

23 May 2006 12:58

Cello Group plc23 May 2006 Cello Group plc AGM Trading Statement At the Annual General Meeting of Cello Group plc to be held today, Kevin Steeds,Chairman, will make the following statement: "Since the announcement of our preliminary results in March, the Group hascontinued to make good progress, with results for the first quarter comfortablyahead of budget. Overall trading for the financial year remains in line withexpectations with revenue visibility across all of our businesses continuing tobe strong. "Our market research platform has enjoyed a very strong start to the yearreflecting the investments in staff and product offering made last year and isshowing excellent organic growth. "We are committed to our strategy of building a research and data led consultingGroup around our three platforms; planning & research, brand consulting andresponse. We are focused on developing businesses with secure earnings based onthe intellectual capital of high quality and experienced professionals providingservices in growing areas of customer demand. "We continue to invest in our existing portfolio of companies to acceleratetheir organic growth, including several new digital and on line initiatives. Inaddition we are appraising a small number of exciting new opportunities in allareas of our operations that will further develop our capabilities and addshareholder value." 23 May 2006 Enquiries: Cello Group plc 020 7812 8461Kevin Steeds - Chairman College Hill 020 7457 2020Adrian Duffield/Ben Way Notes to Editors (www.cellogroup.co.uk) Cello Group plc is a marketing services group that listed on AIM in November2004. The Group's strategy is to create value for shareholders by building a portfolioof companies around three specialist platforms, each operating within adifferent niche of the UK marketing services sector: market research andplanning, brand consultancy, and direct marketing/database management. Cello has annualised turnover of approx. £65 million, annualised gross profit ofsome £35 million and employs approx. 500 people. Each of Cello's three platforms has significant organic and acquisitive growthpotential; blue chip client relationships with a history of client loyalty;experienced, high quality management teams; and a track record of profitability. Cello Planning and Research * Insight Research Group - London and New York Insight is a specialist healthcare market research business that offers a broadrange of quantitative and qualitative research based solutions. Its clientsinclude GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Shire Pharmaceuticals,NovoNordisk, Boehringer Ingleheim, Lundbeck, Pfizer, Roche and Merck, Sharp andDohme. Insight also incorporates FML, a leading field force company. * Leapfrog Research and Planning - Windsor Leapfrog is a leading consumer market research and planning consultancy offeringqualitative and quantitative research in the UK and internationally. It actsfor a number of blue chip clients including Tesco, GSK, BBC, Scottish Courage,AA, RHM and Wyeth. * RS Consulting - London RS Consulting is a quantitative market research and business consultancy. Basedin London, the company employs approx. 70 people across its three subsidiaries.Major clients include hp, Xerox, Sony, FedEx, Department of Work & Pensions,AXA, Yell, RBS, AON and BUPA. Cello Brand Consulting * Leith - Edinburgh and London Leith is the largest and most successful branding agency in Scotland. Theagency has been voted Scottish Agency of the Year for the last five years.Leith opened a London office in 2000. Leith's major clients include Irn Bru,Scottish Executive, Grolsch, Standard Life Bank, Hotpoint, Standard Life,Silentnight and Goodfellas Pizza. * The Value Engineers - Beaconsfield TVE is a leading strategic brand consultancy focused on four core disciplines;branding, strategy, insight and innovation. Clients include Unilever,Carlsberg, Diageo, Sony Ericsson, ICI, Visa, BP, T-Mobile and Britvic. * TMI - Redditch Formed in 1978 TMI UK employs some 60 staff and is a leading provider oforganisational development and consultancy solutions to a range of blue chipclients including Toyota, hp, Metronet, Marks and Spencer, the Foreign andCommonwealth Office, National Express Group and Serco Solutions. Cello Response * Target Group - Cheltenham and Cirencester Target is the leading direct and database marketing consultancy specialising inthe "not-for-profit" and charity sector. The agency works for five of the top20 charities in the UK. Target is expanding into the "grey sector" of productsand services for older people for clients such as National Trust, Saga andWhich? Limited. Target has a leading database subsidiary, Talking Numbers and asuccessful print management operation, Target Direct Print. More recently,Target helped start a digital business, Oomph. * Navigator Responsive Advertising - Edinburgh Navigator Responsive Advertising, Scotland's leading direct marketing agency,provides responsive communication solutions for a wide range of clientsincluding HBOS Group, De Vere Resort Ownership, ScottishPower, Scottish Widows,Abbey and Remy Martin. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange