Progressive Reports 29.4% Growth

In London, Progressive Digital Media (PDM) - the parent of online research firms The iD Factor and ICD Research - has reported a 29.4% rise in group revenue to £48.0m for 2010 (2009: £37.1m).

PDM is a content-based digital media business, formed in June 2009 through the reverse acquisition of TMN plc, the former owner of the two online research firms.

In December, PDM acquired soft drink and alcohol research consultancy Canadean, which sources information about many of the world's largest beverage companies, in a £9m deal funded through a loan provided by PDM Chairman Mike Danson.

For 2010, gross profit was up from £17.4m to £21.2m, but loss before tax also rose to £4.6m (2009: loss £3.0m) due to an impairment charge of £2.8m (2009: Nil). The figure also includes redundancy costs of £1.1m following relocation of staff to head office (2009: £0.6m), and an amortisation charge of £3.4m (2009: £2.8m). EBITDA improved to £3.8m for the year (2009: £1.3m), and Reported EBITDA increased to £2.3m for 2010 from £0.6m for 2009.

Overheads - which consists of corporate, HR, finance, IT and facilities expenses - increased from £8.0m in 2009 to £11.6m in 2010 due to the full year inclusion of TMN and four months of Canadean central overheads.

Despite the reported loss for the period, Danson says the underlying business is profitable with good opportunities for the long-term via further growth in sales and improvement in margins.

In the Digital Marketing division - which includes research and panel solutions - revenues for the year leapt to £8.5m (2009: £3.6m), while the Business Information division reported an increase in revenues to £39.5m (2009: £33.4m).

'With the final integration and reorganisation of our Digital Marketing business now behind us and the introduction of common processes and systems complete, the group now has the solid base in place which will allow us to accelerate our growth,' Danson states. 'I am committed to the long-term development of this company and am confident that the investments we have made and plan to make in our business model will allow the group to deliver on its strategy.'

Web sites: www.progressivedigitalmedia.com and www.tmnplc.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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