ERM Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc

TIDMERM

RNS Number : 8969F

Euromoney Institutional InvestorPLC

21 July 2021

EUROMONEY INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR PLC

Nine Month Trading Update

21 July 2021

Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC ("Euromoney" or the "Group"), the global B2B information services provider of price discovery, essential market intelligence and events, today announces a trading update for the nine months ended 30 June 2021.

Key points:

-- Continuing encouraging trading performance since H1 2021 with an acceleration in subscriptions revenue growth (73% of Group revenue YTD)

   --    Asset Management (BCA Research and NDR) turnaround continuing to progress ahead of plan 
   --    Q3 to 30 June 2021: 

o Group reported revenue of GBP78.9m up 14%; underlying up 17%

o Underlying growth in both subscriptions (+7%) and events (+108%)

o Events revenue of GBP12.6m (Q3 2020 GBP6.4m) reflecting a higher number of virtual events and seven blended events during the period in the US, Asia and Middle East

   --    Nine months to 30 June 2021: 

o Group reported revenue of GBP234.4m down 8%; underlying(1) down 10%

o Strong underlying subscriptions growth in Pricing (+10%) and good growth in Data & Market Intelligence ("DMI") (+5%) offset by covid-19 impact on physical events

   --    Highly complementary 3.0 acquisition of RelSci within People Intelligence 
   --    Outlook for FY 2021: 

o Subscriptions - continued good revenue growth in Pricing and DMI

o Events - slightly more cautious in the short term due to ongoing covid-related travel restrictions

o Confident that the Group will deliver a result in line with the Board's expectations

Revenue by type

 
 Revenue growth    Revenue share    9 months to June 2021      3 months to 30 
  YoY                 9 months                                  June 2021 Q3 
                      FY 2021                                 Underlying growth 
                                   Reported    Underlying 
                                     growth       growth 
                                  ----------  ------------ 
 Subscriptions          73%           +5%          +4%              +7% 
                  --------------  ----------  ------------  ------------------- 
 Events                 16%          (46%)        (48%)            +108% 
                  --------------  ----------  ------------  ------------------- 
 Other                  11%          +11%          +8%              +19% 
                  --------------  ----------  ------------  ------------------- 
 Group revenue         100%          (8%)         (10%)             +17% 
                  --------------  ----------  ------------  ------------------- 
 

Trading highlights:

Pricing

 
 --   Nine month reported revenue down 3%; underlying unchanged. 
       Strong underlying subscriptions revenue up 10%, reflecting 
       sales growth across all three markets (Metals and Mining, 
       Forest Products and Agriculture), was largely offset by 
       a significant decline in events revenue due to the impact 
       of covid-19. 
 --   Q3 underlying revenue up 21% driven by strong growth in 
       subscriptions (+18%) against a covid-impacted comparative. 
 

DMI

 
 --   Nine month reported revenue down 10%; underlying down 19%. 
       Good underlying subscriptions revenue up 5%, reflecting 
       growth in People Intelligence, NextGen and Derivatives pillars, 
       offset by a decline in events revenue due to the impact 
       of covid-19. 
 --   Q3 underlying revenue up 21% reflecting good growth in subscriptions 
       (+5%) and a return to growth in events revenue as we hosted 
       more virtual events and blended events (four versus none 
       in the prior year). 
 --   In May we acquired RelSci, a global relationship-mapping 
       data provider serving financial, professional services and 
       not-for-profit organisations. This highly complementary, 
       strategic bolt-on, adds further scale to the Group's People 
       Intelligence business. 
 

Asset management

 
 --   Nine month reported revenue down 12%; underlying down 7%. 
       Underlying subscriptions revenue down 4%. The improvement 
       in the rate of the decline has been driven by a higher renewal 
       rate following investment in the sales team and in auto-renewals, 
       integration of sales teams to drive cross-selling and new 
       research products. 
 --   Q3 underlying revenue up 11% driven by a further reduction 
       in the decline in subscriptions revenue to -2%, combined 
       with a strong increase in events and other revenue year 
       on year. 
 --   BCA Research and NDR turnaround remains ahead of plan with 
       the non-vote IRD Book of Business (BoB(2) ) at 30 June 2021 
       -0.2% (31 March 2021: -1.2%). 
 

Net cash position

Euromoney's financial position remains strong. Net cash at 30 June 2021 was GBP30.4m compared to GBP24.8m at 31 March 2021. During the quarter we received GBP6.1m in relation to the closure of a Canadian tax enquiry, paid the interim dividend of GBP6.2m and completed the acquisition of RelSci for GBP4.7m.

Outlook

We continue in our progress towards being a fast-growing, high-margin, 3.0, information-services subscription business. For FY 2021 we expect continued good growth in subscriptions for Pricing and DMI. In Asset Management the turnaround of BCA Research and NDR continues to progress ahead of plan. Virtual events continue to perform well, however ongoing travel restrictions mean that we are slightly more cautious on physical events in the short term, with September continuing to be a key event month. Overall, we remain confident that the Group will deliver a result in line with the Board's expectations.

Footnotes:

 
 (1)   Underlying measures are the adjusted results stated at constant 
        exchange rates, including pro forma prior year comparatives 
        for acquisitions and new business launches and excluding 
        disposals, business closures and significant event and publication 
        timing differences, including pro forma prior year adjustments 
        for the application of new accounting standards. 
 (2)   The Book of Business is the annual contracted values of 
        subscriptions. Like-for-like growth is shown by adjusting 
        prior periods with a constant GBP/$ rate and the pro forma 
        impact of net M&A. 
 

For further information, please contact:

Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC

Wendy Pallot, Chief Financial Officer: +44 20 7779 8866; wendy.pallot@euromoneyplc.com

Christian Cowley, Investor Relations: +44 (0)7408 863420; christian.cowley@euromoneyplc.com

FTI Consulting

Jamie Ricketts / Tom Blundell / Lucy Highland: +44 20 3727 1000; euromoney@fticonsulting.com

NOTE TO EDITORS

Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC ("Euromoney") is a global information services business providing essential B2B information in price discovery, market intelligence and events across our segments. Euromoney is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 250 share index. (www.euromoneyplc.com)

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This Trading Update ("Statement") and all information included in it is based on the knowledge and information available to the Board of Directors at the date it was prepared and therefore facts stated and views expressed may change after that date.

This document and any materials distributed in connection with it may include forward-looking statements, beliefs, opinions or statements concerning risks and uncertainties, including statements with respect to the Group's business, financial condition and results of operations. Those statements and statements which contain the words "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect" and words of similar meaning, reflect the Company's Directors' beliefs and expectations and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and which may cause results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements and forecasts. No representation is made that any of those statements or forecasts will come to pass or that any forecast results will be achieved. You are cautioned not to place any reliance on such statements or forecasts. Those forward-looking and other statements speak only as at the date of this Statement. The Group undertakes no obligation to release any update of, or revisions to, any forward-looking statements, opinions (which are subject to change without notice) or any other information or statement contained in this Statement. Furthermore, past performance of the Group cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance.

No statement in this document is intended as a profit forecast or a profit estimate and no statement in this document should be interpreted to mean that earnings per Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC share for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC share.

Nothing in this document is intended to constitute an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity. This document does not constitute or form part of any offer for sale or subscription of, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any securities nor shall it or any part of it nor the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract, commitment or investment decision in relation thereto. This document does not constitute a recommendation regarding any securities.

LEI Number: 213800PZU2RGHMHE2S67

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July 21, 2021 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)