Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2022

Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2022

Robust growth in EBITDA and operating margins
despite challenging macroeconomic backdrop

Declaration of a further special dividend

On track to achieve Margin Acceleration Plan (MAP23)

Centaur Media Plc ("Centaur"), an international provider of business intelligence, learning and specialist consultancy, is pleased to present its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2022.

Financial Highlights

 

• Revenue grew by 6% to £41.6m
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ increased by 33% to £8.5m
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ margin improved to over 20% from 16%
• Net cash² of £16.0m reflecting robust performance and cash generative nature of Centaur
• 77% of revenue from high value Premium Content, Training and Advisory and Marketing Services recurring revenue streams (2021: 74%)
• Final ordinary dividend of 0.6 pence per share proposed - total ordinary dividends for the year of 1.1 pence per share
• Second special dividend of 2.0 pence per share announced today - total special dividends of 5.0 pence per share
•  Total return to shareholders from ordinary and special dividends of £8.8m

Business Highlights

• Flagship 4 brands drove positive momentum over last 12 months
• Growth from successfully developing more customer-centric products and cross-selling
• Festival of Marketing moved from two years of virtual events to a sold out in-person event
• Focus on organic growth and operational management to reinforce the Group's resilience and maintain its operational leverage

Over the course of 2022, Centaur continued to take further steps towards achieving the targets set out as part of its Margin Acceleration Plan (MAP23) - to generate £45m in revenue and an Adjusted EBITDA¹ margin of 23% by the end of 2023. In 2022, the second year of MAP23, Centaur built on its Flagship 4 strategy, the efficiency of its operating structure and the excellence of its people.

Centaur performed well despite the macroeconomic uncertainty seen in 2022. The Group reported revenue of £41.6m for the year (2021: £39.1m), and a Group Adjusted EBITDA¹ of £8.5m (2021: £6.4m). Adjusted EBITDA¹ margin for 2022 improved to over 20% (2021: 16%), resulting in the Group ending the year with a net cash² balance of £16.0m, up from £13.1m last year.

The Flagship 4 brands - Econsultancy, Influencer Intelligence, MW Mini MBA and The Lawyer - have driven this positive momentum over the past twelve months. The markets in which these brands operate, marketing across a range of industries and the legal sector, are characterised by change. They continue to be driven by technological advancement, structural change and globalisation. This provides Centaur with a clear opportunity to use its deep level of expertise to further grow in the marketing and legal sectors.

In 2022, Centaur continued to make significant progress in developing its Flagship 4 brands:

• Econsultancy saw revenue increase by 8%, driven by double-digit growth in subscriptions and a 38% increase in Training and Advisory revenue from large six-figure contracts with blue-chip multinational companies;
• Influencer Intelligence built momentum over the course of the year with double-digit revenue growth due to renewal rates at 90%, the highest for five years;
• MW Mini MBA, our largest brand by revenue, continued to go from strength to strength with corporate multi-seat packages up 20% and price rises contributing to a 7% increase in revenue; and
• The Lawyer performed ahead of expectations, with a 22% increase in Premium Content revenue due to corporate subscription renewal rates of 116% supported by Signal and Litigation Tracker, its data-driven paid-for products. It also held its first in-person The Lawyer Awards since 2019, pushing events revenue up 87%.

The increase in adjusted EBITDA¹ has resulted in an adjusted¹ operating profit of £1.9m (H1 2021: £0.5m). The Group reported profit after taxation of £0.7m which is an improvement from last year’s loss of £0.4m.

Strategic and operational highlights

In January 2021, Centaur updated its Margin Acceleration Plan (“MAP23”) with the aim of raising adjusted EBITDA¹ margin to 23% and increasing revenue to more than £45m by 2023. Since then, Centaur has focused investment and resource allocation on its Flagship 4 brands, which it considers to be the key drivers of organic growth.
Over the past six months, revenues from the Flagship 4 grew by 11% to £13.5m, which now equates to 68% of total Group revenue:

• Econsultancy saw revenue increase by 8%, driven by double-digit growth in subscriptions and a 38% increase in Training and Advisory revenue from large six-figure contracts with blue-chip multinational companies;
• Influencer Intelligence built momentum over the course of the year with double-digit revenue growth due to renewal rates at 90%, the highest for five years;
• MW Mini MBA, our largest brand by revenue, continued to go from strength to strength with corporate multi-seat packages up 20% and price rises contributing to a 7% increase in revenue; and
• The Lawyer performed ahead of expectations, with a 22% increase in Premium Content revenue due to corporate subscription renewal rates of 116% supported by Signal and Litigation Tracker, its data-driven paid-for products. It also held its first in-person The Lawyer Awards since 2019, pushing events revenue up 87%.

Meanwhile, across the portfolio, Centaur was particularly encouraged by the Festival of Marketing moving forwards from two years of virtual events to a hybrid Festival in March and a sold out in-person Festival in October. However, marketing solutions were challenged across both business units due to changing customer behaviour arising from macroeconomic pressures.

The strategic objective across Centaur's suite of brands is to position them for continued growth by developing more customer-centric products and harnessing cross-selling opportunities, with the aim of enabling customers to deliver better corporate outcomes through building competitive advantage in their markets.

Alongside this strategic progress, Centaur has taken clear operational and financial steps to focus on organic growth and manage costs to reinforce the resilience and sustainability of the business. These steps will help maintain the Group's operational leverage and ensure that it is best positioned to withstand any continued macroeconomic uncertainty and achieve its ambitious MAP23 objectives.

Ordinary Dividend and Second Special Dividend

The Group's capital allocation policy is focused on retaining sufficient cash in the business to fund all organic investment, including technology and new products, while maintaining sufficient funding to cover unexpected working capital volatility. The Group will also consider complementary bolt-on acquisitions to supplement its growth strategy. Any cash surplus to the long-term requirements of the business will be returned to shareholders.

The success of the MAP23 strategy and the cash generative, capital light nature of the business has resulted in surplus cash, with net cash² levels of £16.0m as at 31 December 2022 (2021: £13.1m).

Therefore the Board was pleased to announce a special dividend of 3.0 pence per share, £4.3m, in January 2023 in addition to its normal dividend policy of distributing 40% of adjusted retained earnings, subject to a minimum dividend of 1.0 pence per share per annum.

The proposed final dividend of 0.6 pence per share results in total ordinary dividends for 2022 of 1.1 pence per share, above the minimum 1.0 pence per share for the first time since the policy was initiated in 2019.

Following the payment of the first special dividend and other planned creditor payments, net cash² at 10 March 2023 was £10.2m.

Given the strength of the balance sheet, Centaur is pleased to announce today a second special dividend of 2.0 pence per share, £2.9m. Together with the interim, final ordinary and first special dividends, total dividends are 6.1 pence per share, £8.8m.

 

Outlook

Centaur has undergone a significant transformation over recent years and this is set to continue in 2023. The Group will further develop its Flagship 4 and Core Brands to ensure it continues to lead from the front in delivering what customers need.

The Group's strategic priority over time is to shift towards an even more focused, customer-centric offering as it looks to gain a greater share of repeatable, high-value revenue streams from a higher proportion of blue-chip customers.

Centaur remains on track to meet its MAP23 objectives despite the uncertain macroeconomic outlook, and the Group's trading has started the year in line with the Board's expectations.

Swag Mukerji, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Centaur continued to perform well despite the macroeconomic uncertainty that characterised 2022 for our customers. Our focus on understanding and satisfying customer needs, together with our ability to continuously drive operational improvements, raised the quality and efficiency of our business.

"Looking ahead, we are determined to keep driving performance in line with our MAP23 objectives and beyond, by continuing to build the quality of our revenue streams and taking advantage of the operational leverage within our business units. I believe Centaur has the talent, strategy and financial discipline to achieve its longer-term ambitious objectives."

¹ Adjusted EBITDA is adjusted operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and impairment. Adjusted results exclude adjusting items as detailed in note 4 of the financial information.
² Net cash is the total of cash and cash equivalents and short-term deposits. There are no overdrafts or borrowings in the Group.

FULL REPORT HERE: 2022 Preliminary Results Presentation

Enquiries

Centaur Media plc
020 7970 4000
Swag Mukerji, Chief Executive Officer
Simon Longfield, Chief Financial Officer

Teneo
07713 157561 / 07785 528363 / 07917 221748
Zoë Watt / Matthew Thomlinson / Oliver Bell

Note to editors
Centaur is an international provider of market intelligence, learning and specialist consultancy that inspires and enables people to excel at what they do, raising the standard for insight, interaction and impact.

Centaur's Flagship 4 brands are Econsultancy, enabling customers to achieve excellence in digital marketing and ecommerce; MW Mini MBA, taking marketing and brand skills to the next level; Influencer Intelligence, helping global brands find and engage with the right influencers; and The Lawyer, the most trusted brand for the legal profession, providing data-rich business intelligence and insight.