Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier has brought forward its target of double-digit earnings growth to 2001 after taking first-half pre-tax profit 13 per cent higher despite an advertising slump.
Pre-tax profit climbed to £410 million sterling from a previous £351 million. Revenues were also higher than expected, rising 8 per cent to £2.036 billion.
Chief executive Mr Crispin Davis said today the advertising slowdown had battered Reed's business titles but that a strong showing from science, medical, legal and education publications was keeping the group on course.
Dual-listed Reed Elsevier, whose titles include Hollywood trade paper Variety, saw its shares jump 5 per cent to 604p in London and 3.2 per cent in Amsterdam to euro 13.88.
Despite already warning earlier this year that the business titles would take a hit from the economic downturn, the slowdown was worse than envisaged.
But strength in exhibitions partly offset the gloom, taking revenues 8 per cent higher, and the group performed better than its rivals in a difficult climate.
Mr Davis said the business division was expected to post full-year revenues in line with last year. Advertising revenues will account for about 16 per cent of group sales by year-end.
Education put on the best performance, with 11 per cent revenue growth. The results do not include Reed's $4.5 billion Harcourt acquisition, which will boost education revenues to about 20 per cent by the end of the year.