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These results are a bit late to bring to members' attention.

However it's worth noting that Yell has now undergone a re-brand to hibu and will spend the next four years (if it can continue trading) moving everything from Yellow Pages to hibu.

hibu (Yell) is still in a dire situation with a massive debt pile and diminishing revenue stream. 

hibu announces Half Year results – 13 November 2012

Interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2012

Financial headlines(1)

  • Group revenue of £660m decreased by 15%
      - Digital services revenues grew by 38% to £82m
      - Digital directories revenue fell by 15% to £134m
      - Print and other directory revenues fell by 22% to £444m
  • EBITDA(2) of £150m was down £80m
  • Free cash flow of £87m decreased £70m
  • Profit before tax of £7m fell by £62m
  • Profit after tax fell by £66m to a loss after tax of £18m

Operational headlines

  • Total digital revenue has increased from 30% to 33% of revenue
  • Digital services
      - Customers increased by 6% to 383,000
      - Annual digital services revenue per advertiser was £415 
      - Live customer websites increased by 12% to 347,000
  • Digital directories
      - Customers fell by 3% to 857,000
      - Annual digital directory revenue per advertiser was £330
      - Digital directories visitors declined 13% to 37.3m in September
      - Mobile directories visitors increased 63% to 5.2m in September
  • Yellow Pages
      - Yellow Pages advertisers reduced by 12% to 474,000
      - Yellow Pages revenue per advertiser decreased by 7% to £827

Mike Pocock, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“During the first half, the Group has continued to make significant progress on its four year strategy to build a material new digital business. In June we acquired Moonfruit, an innovative digital company, in order to provide new web site products early next year. Following successful pilots in the US, we began to expand our community magazine (formerly Newsletter) initiative, which is now delivering new orders in excess of £500k per week and rising. We signed partnership agreements with Vantiv in the US and Global Payments in the UK, to support our new Payments product which went to pilot in both markets in early September. We also moved into pilot with our new on-line channel, which will provide a modern, lower cost alternative route to market for our products from early 2013 and we began the first pilots of eMarketplace in Oxford and Chicago.

We have also been working hard to sustain our directories business in the face of very difficult market trends that have not improved. Our supply chain and product offers have been further enhanced, driving for example higher consumer use of our online directory products outside the US. The Group also continues to focus on cost management and over the last 18 months has reduced costs by in excess of £200m, independent of the decline in revenue.

In May we announced that the Group had begun the process of putting in place a new capital structure. This is a complicated exercise that will take some months as we ensure that the interests of all of our stakeholders are properly addressed. I remain confident however that the Group will emerge from that process with a much stronger balance sheet that is appropriate to our future business.”

(1) Results are for the half year, unaudited and compared with the same period in the prior year. The changes in revenue, revenue per advertiser and EBITDA before page 6 are stated at constant currency. Revenue percentage changes are also adjusted for rescheduling, changes in bundled revenue allocation in the US and acquisitions.

(2) EBITDA is profit before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items.

Click here to read the full release.

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  • I went ahead with advertising online with them this year (£280!) I have had two phone calls and only received £180 pounds out of it so far.  I thought id give it a go to see if i could get any results from being with them but I think I will spend my hard earned money elsewhare next year!

    They are a dying business which is a great shame really but we all face hard times from time to time and the only thing we can do is learn from our mistakes ant try and plan for the future!

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    "They are a dying business"

    In its present format, I agree Andrew. There just isn't the market and customer volume any more. The internet has wiped out traditional print. Note even the digital directories; income fell by 15% to £134m.

    What I think is coming is a pure digital play. What I am surprised at is that Yell have changed their name now and not waited until they'd defaulted on their borrowings: which I believe will surely happen.

    Digital sales looks to be going well hibu but these are the figures one would expect from a start-up, not a company that's been in existence for a zillion years. (Yell) simply don't the rising revenues from digital to replace those they are losing from print.

    I've been watching the Yellow pages story unfold for a long time now (as I have with other printed media also). These remain interesting times. 


    Andrew Evans said:

    I went ahead with advertising online with them this year (£280!) I have had two phone calls and only received £180 pounds out of it so far.  I thought id give it a go to see if i could get any results from being with them but I think I will spend my hard earned money elsewhare next year!

    They are a dying business which is a great shame really but we all face hard times from time to time and the only thing we can do is learn from our mistakes ant try and plan for the future!

  • It only seems a few years ago that they had such a huge grip on advertising your business and could basically charge what they wanted.

    What a shock to see how quick a business can get in to trouble if they become complacent and believe they are indestructible.

    I won't lose any sleep over the demise of yell.
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