Earnings: Centaur Online Revenue Up 23 Percent Despite Falling Web Subs

Trade publisher Centaur, operator of titles including The Lawyer and New Media Age, grew pre-tax profits 28 percent to £16.9 million for the year to June 30, on 12 percent better revenues of £90.3 million, thanks particularly to online advertising growth.

Online revenue grew 23 percent from £12.8 million to £15.8 million, making £2.9 million EBITDA, and now makes up 17 percent of total company revenue, just one percent more than last year – growth Centaur credited to its strategy to “extend our major print publishing brands across multiple media, but with a particular focus on online opportunities”.

Digging deeper, however, revenue from online subscriptions fell from last year’s £7.6 million to £7.3 million. Circulation revenue grew from £5.4 million to £6.3 million while overall advertising turnover grew 16 percent (recruitment ads up from £12.8 million to £15.8 million, other ads up from £29.8 million to £34.3 million).

Put it together and you get a growing print readership, falling online audience but go-go online advertising returns against the backdrop of an overall advertising resurgence.

In the publisher’s marketing and creative portfolio, falls in direct marketing revenue were offset by 20 percent better online marketing income from New Media Age, the Online Marketing Show and the Interactive Marketing Summit. Most growth in the portfolio was down to increased online recruitment revenues from MarketingWeek.co.uk and DesignWeek.co.uk. Centaur expects to break even on this year’s launches of the Headline Property and Headline Auto alerts services for specialist journalists by end of the 2008 fiscal year. And it’s so far getting “immaterial” revenues from recently launched web TV and Madsearch engine.

Release & Financials