Centaur’s exhibition and events division reported a six per cent revenue increase to £15.7m in the year to 30 June 2011.
 
The division, which represented one-quarter of the organiser and publishing company’s top-line result, also reported adjusted pre-tax earnings of £2.3m. A key exhibition performer was Marketing Week Live, which saw a 24 per cent revenue rise and 31 per cent visitor increase compared with 2010.
 
Other division highlights included Centaur’s home interest exhibitions and Employee Benefits live. Event revenues meanwhile delivered 11 per cent growth driven by B2B events. Despite this, a £7.5m impairment charge left the division with a net loss of £6.4m.
 
Overall, Centaur Media confirmed a 14 per cent group revenue increase to £68.3m for the year to 30 June. The company’s pre-tax earnings also rose by 50 per cent year-on-year to £9.9m, while adjusted profit before tax increased by 63 per cent.
 
Centaur was restructured in June and divided into three core divisions: Business publishing, business information and exhibitions. The restructure saw the departure of long-serving exhibitions chief Calum Taylor, who has since been replaced as by ex-Brand Events MD Andrew Evans.
 
According to the group’s financial result, the restructuring programme impacted this year’s net result and adding a one-off £2.9m charge to its balance sheet. Centaur reported a pre-tax loss of £30.3m including a non-cash impairment charge of £32.2m.
 
"This is an encouraging set of results with adjusted profits, earnings and cash generation all significantly improved,” Centaur CEO Geoff Wilmot said. "We have restructured our business into three distinct operating units. We have made a number of senior management appointments. We have made small but important bolt-on acquisitions as well as disposals, as we optimise our portfolio.
 
“Centaur has acquired momentum and is well placed as a preferred provider of business information and services to our professional and commercial markets of choice.”
 
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