It’s been an interesting few days for B2B results, so let’s summarise the good news:
UBM’s print division: revenues down 23.1% to £165.8m and operating profit down 62.8% to £8.9m
Informa: operating profit down 11% to £145.7m in 2009 on revenue down 4% to £1.2bn
Centaur: revenue fell 24%, a loss before tax of £1.7m in the last six months of 2009
RBI: operating profit fell to £89m in 2009 from the £126m the previous year, a 35% drop in consistent currencies. Revenue was down to £891m last year from £987m in 2008, a fall of 18% in consistent currencies.
DMGT: revenues from the group’s B2B operations in the quarter were £186 million, 20% lower than for the corresponding period in 2008. Revenue from DMGT’s Euromoney business fell by 16% to £71 million.
All we need now are the figures from Incisive and EMAP and we’ll have a full set of gloom.
Among the oft-repeated drivel of the declines ‘bottoming out’ UBM came up with the best quotes. The B2B magazine world “remains significantly over published in the developed world” it said. “In many … of the markets we serve, there will continue to be sufficient demand to support [only] one or two leading titles, a position which each market will reach by means of a ‘last man standing’ process.”
UBM closed 31 titles and merged or reduced the frequency of many others in 2009. It added that a “significant number” of B2B titles will close in the next few years.
