Publishing firm Informa plc (INF.L, INFMF.PK) said its first-quarter Group performance has been broadly as anticipated, with an organic revenue decline of 3.6%, which was heavily impacted by timing differences due to the early Easter. Further, the drag from product pruning completed in 2012 accounted for almost a quarter of the decline. Adjusting for both these factors, group organic growth would have been flat. Additionally, the company's expectations for the year remains unchanged.
The Group still sees underlying growth in all three divisions across 2013, with a weighting to the second half of the year, as well as continues to operate at the lower end of its net debt to EBITDA target ratio range of 2.0 to 2.5 times.
The Academic Information unit has made a good start to the year with organic growth of 2.6%, excluding the benefit of the Medical Books business, which was transferred from PCI to AI at the start of the year. Also, Journal renewals and related cash collection are progressing well and on the Books side of the business, electronic sales were notably strong in the early months of the year. Overall usage of its content continues to grow by a double digit percentage year-on-year, the company said in a statement.
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