Media Company Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) reported third quarter revenue of £278 million, a 25% increase on an underlying basis.
The shares were flat at £10.86 with the trading situation somewhat overshadowed by Lord Rothermere’s bid to take the group private.
The proposal involves Rothermere acquiring the remaining 70% of the group that he does not already own.
The deal is contingent upon the sale of the group’s insurance arm and the disposal of its on-line car retailer Cazoo that is intending to list later this year on the New York Stock Exchange. Rothermere has until 9 August to make a firm offer for the group.
Today’s trading update highlighted the contrasting fortunes of the group’s various divisions. Within the B2B information services group Property Information performed strongly recording revenue growth of 32% for the quarter. Landmark which uses technology to enable faster and more efficient property transactions increased revenue by 41% over nine months, and by 95 percent during Q3.
HOW DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BUSINESS HAVE PERFORMED
Similarly, Trepp the American business which has the industry’s largest commercially available database of securitized mortgages grew underlying revenues by 13% in Q3, as customers continued to seek guidance regarding their risk exposure.
The Consumer Media division that publishes The Mail, The Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, also performed strongly growing Q3 revenue by 22%. This was particularly impressive given that print volumes declined. This was mitigated by an increase in the cover price and strong growth in digital subscriptions.
The performance of the group’s B2B Events and Exhibition business was severely impacted by Covid. Revenues decreased by an underlying 85% for the nine months.
A small number of events have been held in recent months including Index, the interior design event and the Hotel Show, both of which took place during May in Dubai. However today’s trading update was distinctly cautious regarding the recovery potential for the division ‘Exhibitors and delegates ability willingness to travel internationally in the near future remains uncertain’.