R4E.L Regulatory News (R4E)

26 Feb 2008 07:00

First Artist Corporation PLC26 February 2008 Date: 26 February 2008 On behalf of: First Artist Corporation plc ("First Artist" or "the Group") Embargoed for: 0700hrs First Artist Corporation plc Trading Update First Artist Corporation plc (AIM: FAN), the media, entertainment and eventsgroup, today provides an update on current trading prior to entering the closeperiod before reporting its interim results for the six months ended 29 February2008. This includes the Christmas trading period and the January footballtransfer window. The overall performance of the Group has been in line with managementexpectations. The Board is pleased with a strong pipeline of income and newbusiness opportunities across the Group, which will drive growth during thetraditionally stronger second half of the year and beyond. Media Dewynters, the UK's leading theatre and entertainment media agency is continuingto trade strongly. Dewynters will be promoting a number of new West End showsincluding musicals, 'Gone with the Wind' and 'Sleeping Beauty', which open inthe UK in April and June 2008 respectively. Sponsorship Consulting, an independent sponsorship consultancy, has recentlysigned new term contracts with existing clients Unilever and Shell, as well asgenerating a good flow of new business, which will bear fruit in the second halfof the year. First Rights, established in 2007 to develop sponsorship rights, has won sixclients in its first nine months of operation, including the appointment tosecure sponsorship for the Eighth Special Olympics GB National Summer Games tobe held in Leicester in July 2009. Entertainment / Sports Our Football division has experienced a strong January football-trading window.First Artist Sport completed 19 deals during the window, including FelipeCaicedo from FC Basel to Manchester City, Leigh Bromby from Sheffield United toWatford F.C., Jean-Alain Boumsong from Juventus to Lyon and Shaun Derry fromLeeds United to Crystal Palace. Trading has been as expected, with a strong dealpipeline for the second half of the year. First Artist Management, our 'Total Management' celebrity and media agencyrepresenting actors, sport and TV presenters and other media personalities,continues to trade well. The company introduced Natalie Pinkham for 'Dancing onIce' and recently signed David Platt for Sky Sports. Optimal Wealth Management, the high net worth Independent Financial Advisoryfirm, continues to be have a strong financial input into the Group. In Januarythe company successfully gained Chartered status from the Chartered InsuranceInstitute (CII), an exclusive title only awarded to firms which meet rigorousquality and compliance criteria relating to professionalism and capability. Events Event management company, The Finishing Touch, is trading sizeably ahead of thesame period last year, which has been achieved despite a challenging corporateevents market. The Finishing Touch continues to deliver an excellent service toits public sector client, the Training & Development Agency for Schools, and astrong second half performance is expected. Current Trading & Outlook The Board is pleased with the continued progress that the Group has made duringthe period and remains confident that trading for the full year will be in linewith market expectations. Cash generation remains strong in the Group. The Group expects to report its interim results for the six months ended 29 February 2008 in April 2008. - ends - Jon Smith, Chief ExecutiveRichard Hughes, Group Managing Director www.firstartist.comFirst Artist Corporation Tel: 020 7993 0000 Emma Kane / Samantha Robbins / Sanna Lehtinen sr@redleafpr.comRedleaf Communications Tel: 020 7822 0200 David FloydDawnay Day, NOMAD Tel: 020 7509 4570 Katie SheltonDaniel Stewart, Broker Tel: 020 7776 6550 Notes to Editors: - First Artist Corporation plc floated on AIM in 2002 - First Artist's group companies are among the leading brands in their fields under the following categories: o Media - advertising, marketing and signage for West End, Broadway and Las Vegas shows via the Dewynters and Newman Displays brands, and strategic sponsorship consulting via Sponsorship Consulting and First Rights o Entertainment - representation of media personalities and football players/clubs across UK, Europe and the US via its First Artist Sport and First Artist Entertainment companies together with wealth management under its Optimal Wealth Management arm o Events - offers a broad range of events such as conferences, company activity days, venue finding, delegate management and client events for private and public sector clients such as the Training & Development Agency, under its Finishing Touch business - First Artist is acting as a consolidator in the fragmented media, entertainment and events sectors focusing on high quality brands with the potential to cross sell to other Group companies - First Artist has strong visibility of earnings across a diverse and non-cyclical range of activities in both live and digital formats - The Group benefits from a strong, experienced management team with extensive expertise across all the sectors in which it operates This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange