Cision AB (publ) – Interim report January-June 2010, July 22, 2010

Organic growth in the US

Continued improvement in profitability

April-June

• The Group’s operating revenue amounted to SEK 285 million (377). Organic growth was negative at 5 percent, compared with negative 8 percent for January–March 2010 and negative 12 percent for April–June 2009. Exchange rate effects decreased revenue by SEK 11 million compared with the same period last year.
  
• Operating profit excluding restructuring costs amounted to SEK 35 million (30). Exchange rate effects had a negative impact on operating profit of SEK 1 million compared with the same period last year.
  
• Following mainly the successful divestment of loss-making businesses in Europe, Cision’s operating margin excluding restructuring costs continued to strengthen in the second quarter, reaching 12.2 percent compared with 10.4 percent in the first quarter of 2010 and 7.9 percent in the second quarter last year.
  
• Cision US returned to organic growth of 3% in the second quarter, following negative organic growth of 4% in the first quarter of 2010 and negative 10% for 2009.

January–June

• The Group’s operating revenue amounted to SEK 599 million (837). Organic growth was negative at 7 percent (–10). Exchange rate effects decreased revenue by SEK 45 million.
  
• Operating profit excluding restructuring costs amounted to SEK 68 million (48) and the operating margin excluding restructuring costs was 11.3 percent (5.7). Exchange rate effects had a negative impact on operating profit of SEK 6 million compared with the same period last year.
  
• Operating profit including restructuring costs amounted to SEK 62 million (33) and profit before tax was SEK 39 million (–14). Earnings per share were SEK 0.20 (–0.28).
  
• For the period January–June, operating cash flow amounted to SEK –3 million (19) and free cash flow amounted to SEK –71 million (–56).

Comment by Cision CEO Hans Gieskes:

“In the second quarter of 2010, we were pleased to see continued improvement in profitability. Our EBITDA margin exceeded 17 percent, up from 15 percent in the first quarter of 2010, indicating that we are on track toward achieving our financial target of an EBITDA margin exceeding 20 percent by 2012 at the latest. The improvement in profitability was mainly driven by stronger performance in Cision Europe, where the EBITDA margin increased significantly from 5 percent in the first quarter to 11 percent in the second quarter of 2010. Our North American business also continued to do well, delivering a very solid 25 percent EBITDA margin in the second quarter.

In the second quarter, we continued to see positive effects from the launch of CisionPoint as our most important business, Cision US, returned to organic growth. The share of customers on the CisionPoint platform in the US has now reached 78 percent as of June 30, 2010, compared with 48 percent one year ago. As we continue to roll out CisionPoint in our other markets, we remain confident in the long-term growth prospects for Cision.”

For further information, please contact:
Hans Gieskes, President and CEO, telephone +46 (0)8 507 410 11
e-mail: hans.gieskes@cision.com

Erik Forsberg, CFO, telephone +46 (0)8 507 410 91
e-mail: erik.forsberg@cision.com

Cision AB (publ)
P.O. Box 24194
SE-104 51 Stockholm, Sweden
Corp Identity No. SE556027951401
Telephone: +46 (0)8 507 410 00
http://corporate.cision.com

Cision empowers businesses to make better decisions and improve performance through its CisionPoint software solutions for corporate communication and PR professionals. Powered by local experts with global reach, Cision delivers relevant media information, targeted distribution, media monitoring, and precise media analysis. Cision has offices in Europe, North America and Asia, and has partners in 125 countries. Cision AB is quoted on the Nordic Exchange with a turnover of SEK 1.5 billion in 2009.

Tags: