Chairman’s comments on the results for the six months to 31 July 2013
I am delighted to report an improving set of results for the interim period. The Company enjoyed an increase in turnover to just over £1m, while significantly reducing the loss before depreciation, amortisation and share options expense to £97k from £196k for the same period last year.
The events team delivered an impressive performance with overall sales up 32%. The principal event for this period was the M & A Awards, which showed strong growth. We also launched a brand new event in June, Techinvest, which has already gained a strong foothold in the technology venture space and will become an annual feature.
Like-for-like sales for the SME team also improved significantly, up 17% for the period, and the team worked with blue chips such as Microsoft, Fedex, Sage and Lloyds on specialist projects to deliver a pleasing result. Traffic for the web sites grew, with social referrals for both SME sites doubling.
The technology web site Information-Age.com has shown a marked and consistent increase in online and mobile traffic since its re-launch earlier this year.
Our investment products, What Investment and Growth Company Investor, increased subscriber numbers during the period and the re-launched What Investment web site delivered an outstanding improvement in visits, page views and user retention. The team worked hard to increase revenues from brand extensions, such as research and events.
Following a renegotiation of our bank financing, which resulted in a reduction of the credit facilities available to the Company, the Directors have agreed, if necessary, to provide a small loan to cover the reduction in the facility. (RNS extract)
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