Last checked at 16 May 2007 07:00
Date: 16 May 2007
On behalf of: TMN Group plc ("TMN" or "the Company")
Embargoed until: 0700hrsTMN Group plc * Trading update
TMN Group plc (AIM: TMN), the UK's premier online direct marketing group, is pleased to announce a positive update for the year ended 30 April 2007 prior to entering its close period.
The Directors expect Profit before Tax (PBT) to be in line with market expectations and for Earnings per share (EPS) to be higher due to a reduced tax charge. Group turnover is expected to be lower than market expectations due to a higher proportion of inter-group sales, resulting in higher gross margins.
The TMN Media and EDR divisions have outperformed, compensating for a slower than anticipated first nine months from iD Factor. It is pleasing to note that iD Factor had an excellent final quarter and continues to trade strongly.
In March the Group was voted Online Business of the Year at the Fast Growth Business Awards 2007.
TMN Media, the Group's online media division, has launched a number of new initiatives, including a lead generation website, www.plum-offers.com, which has started to make a notable contribution. Prospects for TMN Media, fuelled by existing products and new launches, remain very strong. TMN Media has been reported by Precision Marketing Magazine as the top list manager in the UK.
EDR, the Group's advertising agency specialising in email planning and buying, has achieved a number of new client wins in the past 12 months, and has established itself as the UK's leading planner and buyer of email marketing. New technology to expand the service that EDR offers in email marketing and lead generation puts the division in a strong position to continue its success going forward. EDR has been reported by Precision Marketing Magazine as the top list broker in the UK.
iD Factor focuses on providing online fieldwork solutions to the market research industry. In the first nine months, with costs allocated to ensure we were properly positioned to take advantage of the booming marketplace, IDF did not contribute the profit expected. However, in the final quarter of the year, IDF delivered excellent results and, along with ICD Research, the Group's newly formed market research analysis division, we are now well positioned to increase revenues and profitability.
Mark Smith, Chief Executive of TMN Group, commented:
"I am delighted to report another strong trading year for TMN Group with robust growth in all areas of the business. We have substantially improved margins by a focus on quality of revenue and by exploiting the excellent synergies offered within the Group, ensuring more of the revenue and profit is retained.
"With the offline advertising audience continuing to fragment, we are well placed with our highly profiled lists and advertising services to benefit from the continued online migration.With a full contribution from all divisions in the last quarter we look forward to the current year with confidence."
TMN expects to report its preliminary results for the year ended 30 April 2007on 17 July 2007.- ends -Enquiries to:TMN Mark Smith, CEO 020 7440 9310 Peter Coveney, FD Redleaf Communications Emma Kane / Duncan McCormick / Samantha Robbins 020 7822 0200
Notes to Editors:
* TMN Group plc ("TMN") was established in 1999. * The Company comprises of three core divisions: * TMN Media: email marketing specialist, with over 10 million highly profiled, permission-based email addresses across numerous lists, manages the most comprehensive portfolio of email databases in the UK. Also operator of the largest online reward scheme in the UK. Clients include Sky, T-Mobile, British Gas, EMAP, Volvo and Boots. * EDR: online interactive advertising agency, plans campaigns across dozens of third party lists, including those operated by TMN Media, and is the largest buyer of email advertising in the UK. Clients span a number of sectors, including finance, motoring, publishing and shopping. * The iD Factor: specialists in online market research, with 250,000 panel members in the UK and over 4 million members across 41 territories, managed via a network of local partnerships, allowing targeted domestic and international research. Clients include numerous MR Agencies, producing work for Microsoft, Lloyds TSB, NSPCC, Persil, Carlsberg and PC World. * TMN is committed to the development of new initiatives to drive the growth of its business. * TMN Enterprise has been created to manage all new developments for the Group. The first development, launched in September, is a web-based lead generation system called "Lead It", designed to assist advertisers in building their databases. * ICD Research has been established as an autonomous division providing clients with insight and analysis of market research data. * Operating in rapidly growing market * Over ‚£2billion spent on internet advertising in 2006, a 41.2% increase on a like-for-like basis compared with 2005 (Source: IAB) * Online advertising now represents over 12% of the total advertising market - and is the fastest-growing segment of the market (Source: IAB) * Online Retail spend predicted to reach ‚£40 billion by 2010 (Source: Forrester Research) * Focus on dominating UK market in key areas of online advertising and market research * Members of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and International Advertising Bureau (IAB)
TMN GROUP PLC