Euromoney pleases with 28% advance

SHARES in Euromoney Publications, the specialist financial publisher and training company, jumped nearly 10 per cent from pounds 11.83 to pounds 13.06 yesterday on news of better-than- expected full year results, writes Nigel Cope.

Pre-tax profits were up 28 per cent to a record pounds 17.7m on sales of pounds 54m. The dividend is 38p (29.5p).

Euromoney, which is 75 per cent owned by Daily Mail and General Trust, owns 48 magazines, including its flagship title Euromoney, as well as interests in books, conferences and training courses.

It has made 33 acquisitions in the past four years at a cost of pounds 14m and expects to spend another pounds 18m on increasing those stakes over the next two years.

Training was the most improved sector over the year, with pre-tax profits doubling to pounds 2.7m. This includes a three-month contribution from DC Gardner, the training company Euromoney bought for pounds 3.7 at the end of June.

Richard Ensor, managing director, said the acquisition should improve the figures considerably over the coming year.

International financial publishing was the biggest earner, contributing pounds 9.5m.

The performance of the aviation and leasing publications continued to be depressed by the recession in the airline business.