The Mission Group Regulatory News (TMG)

The Mission Group plc 

Trading update and Notice of results

The Mission Group plc ("MISSION", "the Company" or "the Group", AIM: TMG), the alternative group for ambitious brands, today issues a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2019.

Trading update

2019 has been another great year for the Group, full of achievements, continued investment and positive change. As a result, we expect to be in line with market expectations and to report our ninth consecutive year of growth in headline profits*.

For an alternative way of getting an overview, you may like to watch this brief video: https://vimeo.com/385960272

2019 was undoubtedly a challenging year and, more than ever, many Clients left it until the final two months of the year to commit to spending. However, the structural, organisational, positioning and brand changes implemented during the year helped to offset this, and we were delighted to broker the major sponsorship deal between lastminute.com and the London Eye towards the end of the year.

The very back-ended nature of our trading resulted in more working capital requirements at the end of the year than usual but, nevertheless, we again expect to report a net bank debt to EBITDA ratio** of below x0.5. If the trading profile across the year returns to more normal patterns, we expect the Group to be debt free/cash positive at the end of 2020.

Notice of results

The Company expects to announce its final results on 1 April 2020.

David Morgan, Chairman, commented: "2019 was a year of unprecedented uncertainty and I am incredibly proud that the Group has yet again achieved a year of revenue and profit growth. We are looking to increase investment in our business through 2020 given the advances we are making in technology and geography as we continue to expand our offering into new Clients and new markets. More than ever, I am convinced that our positioning as a nimble and entrepreneurial group is right for our times and I remain very positive about MISSION's prospects for the future."

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* Headline profits are calculated on continuing operations and before losses from start-up activities, acquisition adjustments and profits on the disposal of BroadCare in 2018.

** On a pre-IFRS 16 basis.

MISSION is a collective of creative Agencies led by entrepreneurs who encourage an independent spirit. Employing 1,150 people in the UK, Europe, Asia and US, the Group combines the expertise of Integrated and Specialist Agencies to bring commercially effective solutions to business challenges.

www.themission.co.uk