LBi second quarter and first half year 2009 Margins protected well in
difficult circumstances
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - PRESS RELEASEStockholm/Amsterdam, 23 July 2009LBi - the global digital marketing and technology agency todayannounces its second quarter and half year results 2009Margins protected well in difficult circumstancesSecond quarter highlightsStrong operational progress booked in key markets, the U K and the US. Performance per country remained varied and effects of recessionin smaller geographies are shown in unpredictability in the salescycleNet sales (at constant rates) declined 17,9% year-on-year to EUR 34.3million, reflecting slightly lower spend by retained clients,deferred projects and a decline in one-off inbound projectsGood sequential growth in E BITDA to EUR 4.5 million, representing an18.4% increaseEBITDA margin improved from 10.9% (adjusted) to 13.1% sequentially asa result of restructuring, organisational design and effective costefficiency measures*Positive operating cash flow of EUR 7.4 million reflects continuedfocus on working capital and cash flow management. N et debt reducedby 21% to EUR 26.7 millionFirst half year highlightsNet sales (at constant rates) down 12.2% year-on-year to EUR 69.1million, adjusted E BITDA (at constant rates) in line with previouslevelsStrong improvement of adjusted EBITDA-margin from 10.4% to 12.0%*Earlier announced one-time restructuring charges of EUR 3.8 millionbooked in the first quarter 2009Earnings per share came in at EUR -0.01 (0.03)Positive operating cash flow of EUR 4.4 million reflects continuedfocus on working capital and cash flow managementLooking aheadConsistent evidence in key markets, the UK and the US, of a morepositive outlook based on inbound activity and weighted funnelLargely completed organisational redesign in US expected to have apositive effect on E BITDA in second half yearContinued focus on cash flow management and anticipated further netdebt reduction in the second half yearFurther improvement of effectiveness and lowering cost base pursuedaimed at building the full-service digital agency best equipped toserve global accounts* The EBITDA margin for Q1 (10.9 %) and H1 (12.0%) are adjusted andexclude restructuring charges of EUR 3.8 millionA word from the CEOAs anticipated, we have seen continued pressure on the top line in anumber of markets in the second quarter. The decline is mainly aconsequence of a slowdown in decision making on the client side.Despite lower sales, we have been able to protect our margins andeven reported a sequential underlying margin improvement in thesecond quarter. We recorded an EBITDA of EUR 4.5 million on net salesof EUR 34.3 million, which represents an EBITDA margin of 13.1%,compared to 10.9% in the first quarter of 2009 and 14.5 % in thesecond quarter of 2008. During the quarter, we continued to improveour efficiency and saw a first positive impact of the earlierannounced restructuring and organizational redesign, with annualisedstructural cost savings expected to exceed EUR 9 million.The performance in the quarter reflects good operational progress inour key markets the US and UK. Both these territories track well toplan. As a consequence of aggressive cost cutting, margins in the UKare now at an historic high of 20.6%. In the US, we largely completedthe organisational redesign in the quarter, which we expect to have apositive impact on EBITDA in the second half of the year. In bothmarkets, the weighted new business pipeline is strengthening asdeferred spending gets green light.In Central & Southern Europe and Scandinavia the story is marketspecific. Germany has managed margin well given the marked pressureon the top line. Our Berlin based branding business MetaDesigncontinues to suffer as a consequence of its exposure to theautomotive sector and we don't expect conditions in Germany toimprove in the short term. Performance in other European countriesremained varied and the effects of the recession are in manyinstances still acute. Smaller territories that are already at anoptimised cost structure such as Sweden, Belgium, Denmark andSpain are struggling with unpredictability in forecasts and a topline which can spike and contract with little notice. This makeseffective resource utilisation difficult, which will likely beexacerbated by the seasonal third quarter holiday period.We remain cautious about the macro economic developments in a numberof smaller countries and will as a consequence further improveefficiencies and lower our cost base on a selective market specificbasis. We will continue to mitigate the effects of local marketcontraction by distributing revenues via our US and European hubs inthe UK and the Netherlands. Clients such as Etihad, Lloyds, NationalGrid and Sony are successfully serviced across multiple geographiesand we see an increasing interest from clients who want us to servicethem across all major markets. As a full-service digital agency, weare uniquely positioned to service such complex global opportunities.Indeed LBi is now the only agency ranked as a market leader in bothEurope and the US by Forrester in its 2009 Wave report.Luke Taylor, CEOhttp://hugin.info/86897/R/1330469/314524.pdfThis announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Datum: 23.07.2009 - 07:31 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 3869
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