* Full year consolidated operating revenue at NOK 1.979m, up 3,4% from
2002 (pro forma excluding France)
* Growth in full year EBITDA of 30% from 2002 to NOK 795m. EBITDA
margin at 40,2% for the group (pro forma excluding France) and
48,2% for the Norwegian segment
* Full year consolidated cash flow from operating activities before
interest payments up 28% from 2002 to NOK 734m
* Cash position at NOK 560m
* Acquisition of AS Delfi
Details on results and cash flow are discussed below.
Conference Call
Findexa will release the results for the full year 2003 on Friday February 13. The company will host a conference call and webcast Monday February 16 at 02:00 p.m. CET (Norwegian time).
To listen you may do one of the following:
A. Webcast: Go to http://www.huginonline.no/FIND/ and click on the
link to "Webcast". To listen to the conference call from the web, you
need to have installed Windows Media Player.
B. Conference Call: Call +47-23000400, or from Norway 80080119.
The call is expected to last one hour including a Q&A session after
the presentation.
Significant Events
On December 15, 2003, Findexa signed an agreement to acquire AS Delfi, the leading Baltic portal, from Microlink. The acquisition makes Findexa the largest internet player in the Baltic region. The transaction was completed January 15, 2004.
During the fourth quarter Findexa signed an agreement to divest its Czech business to Mediatel. The transaction is yet to be closed.
On December 31, 2003, all International assets have been transferred out of the Findexa II AS group of companies to an entity controlled by Findexa L.L.C., our indirect parent. This is the finalization of the plan announced in the Form 6-K filed May 30, 2002. As a consequence of this the International segment will in future filings be reported as discontinued operations. For comparison purposes the International segment is consolidated as previous quarters in this earnings release. All consolidated financial information is therefore given on a pro forma basis.
Revenue
Full year consolidated operating revenue, excluding France, was at NOK 1,979.5m, up 3.4% from prior year. Fourth quarter year on year revenue, excluding France, was up 18.6%, reflecting positive development in both segments.
Norway
Operating revenue was up 2.6% to NOK 1,608.5m for the year. The increase reflects improved performance within online as well as the acquisition of 1880, while print revenues remain at 2002 level.
For the quarter revenue was up 15.3% year on year, driven by online and 1880.
Customer credits for the year were at 3.5% of gross revenue, compared to the prior year 3.8%. Fourth quarter includes an adjustment driven by changes in historical credits.
Full year media spending in Norway was up 4.9% from the prior year.
International (excluding France)
Operating revenue was up 7.2% for the full year and up 22.2% for the quarter. Adjusting for portfolio and timing differences the organic growth in local currency was 11.2% for the year and 8.2% for the quarter.
We have experienced growth in all regions, with the exception of Central Europe. Particularly Finland and Russia show high growth in local currency.
Cost of Materials and Printing
Cost of materials and printing continued to decline in absolute numbers as well as in a percentage of revenue. Consolidated cost (pro forma excluding France) for the full year 2003 was 8.0% of revenue as compared to 9.1% for the full year 2002. Both Norway and International show positive trends.
The reduction is driven by new supplier contracts as well as reduced number of books and pages printed, reflecting more cost-effective directory layouts and more selective distribution of directories in certain areas. Furthermore, the relative higher share of internet revenues positively impacted the ratio.
Operating Expenses
Full year consolidated operating expenses (pro forma excluding France) is at NOK 1,025.8m or 9.1% below prior year. For the fourth quarter, spending was at NOK 302.6m or 1.8% below the same quarter in 2002.
Norway
Norway shows a decrease in full year spending of NOK 93.8m or 11.5%. Salaries and personnel costs are down with 3.4%. The company announced a restructuring process in 2002, including a headcount reduction of 30, which was implemented in the first quarter of 2003. The cost impact of this restructuring was in place in the second quarter. Partly offsetting the impact is the acquisition of 1880 in September 2003.
Other operating expenses are down with 20.7% or NOK 84.7m. Included is reduction of cost of premises and other infrastructure related costs with NOK 33.9m. Bad debt is for the full year at 1.6% of net operating revenue as compared to prior year 1.9%.
The 2003 spending level have been impacted by a reduced provision for bad debt, which was driven by current trends on credit risks, as well as reversal of other provisions. In total these elements amounts to NOK 34m.
International (excluding France)
International operations (pro forma excluding France) had a full year spending decrease of NOK 9.2m or 3.0% as compared to prior year.
EBITDA
Consolidated EBITDA (pro forma excluding France) was at NOK 100.9m for the quarter, which is NOK 65.3m above same quarter prior year. Full year EBITDA (pro forma excluding France) was at NOK 795.4m, which is NOK 184.5m or 30.2% above prior year.
Norway had an increase in EBITDA of NOK 145.7m, or 23.1%, for the year. Fourth quarter increase in EBITDA was impacted by adjustments related to bad debt and provisions. EBITDA margin is 48.2% for the year, as compared to total year 2002 40.2%.
International operations (pro forma excluding France) had a positive EBITDA for the quarter of NOK 42.4m. For the full year EBITDA was NOK 19.7m, which is an improvement over prior year of NOK 38.7m.
Financial Items
Net financial items for the year were a cost of NOK 744.5m, compared to prior year cost of NOK 454.9m. Included in this cost are non-cash based interest expenses of NOK 265.7m (2002: NOK 227.9m) and unrealized foreign currency loss on senior loans of NOK 201.5m (2002: net gain NOK 119.5m).
Cash Flow
Quarter consolidated cash flow from operating activities, before interest payments of NOK 91.4m, was NOK 98.2m, compared to NOK 84.2m in the prior year. Full year consolidated cash flow from operating activities, before interest payments of NOK 340.0m, was NOK 734.3m, up 28.0% from prior year NOK 573.6m. The improvement is driven by EBITDA.
Net cash paid on acquisitions was NOK 51.7m. Scheduled and surplus cash repayments in relation to the senior credit agreement were NOK 252.2m. International received a loan from Findexa III AS in the quarter of NOK 32.6m.
Cash transferred from Norway (Restricted Group) to International was NOK 80.0m for the year and NOK 40.0m for the quarter.
Full year net change in cash and cash equivalents was NOK 111.1m (Norway NOK 42.6m).
Cash position at the end of the year was NOK 560.0m (Norway: NOK 409.4m). In addition, the company has an unused revolving credit facility of NOK 400m.
Note to pro forma adjustments, 2002 accounts
2002 accounts are unaudited pro forma accounts adjusted for purchase accounting adjustments as follows:
In connection with the purchase price allocation for the acquisition of Findexa AS by TPG, printed directories in progress were increased to fair value as of the purchase date to include profit for the completed portion of each directory. As a result, gross profit during the successor periods was less than during the predecessor periods until those directories had been distributed. Deferred revenue at the time of acquisition was reduced to reflect the present value of the costs to provide the related services plus a profit margin. As a result, profit during the successor period was less than the predecessor period. For the full year 2002, these adjustments resulted in a decrease in revenue of NOK 36.1m and an increase in operating expenses of NOK 171.2m. The pro forma income statement reflects adjustments for the year 2002 to remove the one-time effects of these purchase accounting adjustments.
Further information
This release as well as further financial information, may be accessed at: www.huginonline.no/FIND.
Oslo, February 13, 2004
Peter Darpo
President & CEO
For further information please contact:
Erik Dahl
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +47 970 06 560
Email: erik.dahl@findexa.no
The full financial results including tables can be downloaded from the following link: http://hugin.info/133752/R/934396/128840.pdf
SOURCE Findexa Group AS
CONTACT: Erik Dahl, Chief Financial Officer of Findexa Group AS, +47-970-06-560, erik.dahl@findexa.no
© PR Newswire
Only GlobeinvestorGOLD combines the strength of powerful investing tools with the insight of The Globe and Mail.
Discover a wealth of investment information and and exclusive features.
![Harry Koza [headshot]](http://gold.globeinvestor.com/images/contributors/harry_koza55.gif)
![Yola Edwards [headshot]](http://gold.globeinvestor.com/images/contributors/yola_edwards55.gif)
![The Contra Guys [headshots]](http://gold.globeinvestor.com/images/contributors/contra_heard55.gif)
![Rob Carrick [headshot]](http://gold.globeinvestor.com/images/contributors/rob_carrick55.gif)
![Bob Tattersall [headshot]](http://gold.globeinvestor.com/images/contributors/bob_tattersall55.jpg)
