CRE Conduit Holdings Limited

RNS Number:0583B
Creston PLC
30 July 2007




30 July 2007

                                  Creston plc

                             AGM Trading Statement

                          Interim Management Statement

Creston plc, the Insight and Communications Group, is pleased to announce its
first interim management statement in respect of the period from 1 April 2007 to
30 June 2007 and is pleased to provide a trading update ahead of its AGM at noon
today.

At the AGM, Don Elgie, Group Chief Executive, will provide the following update:

"Trading in the first quarter is well ahead of the same period last year, with
revenue up by 43%, or 12% on a like-for-like basis, and operating profit margins
at a consistent level, above our peer group.

The BRANDCOM Division, which focuses on integrated communications, in the
consumer and healthcare sector, has enjoyed a solid start to the year. DLKW's
newly integrated client offer, incorporating on and off-line services, has
performed well and has required investment in resource to service the growing
needs of clients in the digital communication arena. Since the Group's
acquisition of PAN in December, the healthcare agency has continued its success
in winning global healthcare projects, as well as working closely with Red Door
Communications, Creston's healthcare PR Company.

The Insight Division, which specialises in online, quantitative and qualitative
market research, has had an excellent start to the year and the on-line research
division, newvista research, has continued its exceptional expansion into the
group's existing client base.

Following the high number of new business wins in the second half of last year,
the MARCOMS Division, which targets opportunities within the direct and digital
marketing sector, has focused on servicing and growing these wins. Examples of
these successes include the win of Infinity post the pan-European Nissan win and
several new projects from Sainsbury. Although the Division has enjoyed excellent
revenue growth, there has been a short term need to rely on freelancers to cope
with the increased workload. This short term resourcing issue has now largely
been resolved.

The PR Division, which provides public relations services, particularly in the
technology, consumer and healthcare sectors, has made good progress in the first
quarter driven by a mixture of new business wins and growth from existing
clients. The performance of NBC following the end of its earn out period has
been good and Red Door Communications has just been nominated Healthcare Agency
of the Year by its industry peers.

In the year to date, new client wins have been across the whole Group and
include: Alton Towers, Capital One, GSK, Roche Diagnostic, Royal Mail and The
Stroke Association. Our cross selling synergy wins include PepsiCo, Astra Zeneca
and Servier.

The existing banking facility has substantial headroom and supports the Board's
objective to fund further selective and earnings-enhancing acquisitions via
operating cash flow and bank debt where appropriate. The Board is also reviewing
its deal structure for future acquisitions, with a view to reducing the
proportion of value to be satisfied in consideration shares, whilst increasing
the period over which vendors are incentivised by way of long-term lock-in.

With 40% of global marketing spend occurring in the US, this clearly represents
a strategically important market for several of Creston's companies and clients.
The appointment of Steve Blamer has significantly raised the profile of Creston
in the US market place and we look forward to reporting on developments in this
market.

Outlook

The seasonal nature of the Group's business remains unchanged with revenue and
operating profit weighted to the second half of the year.

Full year trading remains in line with expectations and the Group continues to
enjoy a strong pipeline of new business opportunities."

For further information, please contact:

Creston plc                                                        020 7930 9757
Don Elgie, Chief Executive
Barrie Brien, COO & CFO
www.creston.com

Hogarth Partnership Limited                                        020 7357 9477
Chris Matthews / Sarah Macleod / Sarah Richardson




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END
AGMILFVTDTIDFID

Conduit (LSE:CRE)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 6월(6) 2024 으로 7월(7) 2024

Conduit (LSE:CRE)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 7월(7) 2023 으로 7월(7) 2024