Ascential plc Annual Report 2018 UNLOCK THE FUTURE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 CONTENTS Strategic report / 04 2018 in summary 06 Company overview 08 Geographic presence 10 Chief Executive’s statement 14 Market review 16 Business model 18 Strategy 20 Segmental reviews 24 Financial review 30 Our alternative performance measures 34 Risk management and viability statement 37 Principal risks 42 Our people 45 Corporate and social responsibility report Governance / 54 Chairman’s introduction to governance 56 Board of Directors 58 A strong governance framework 61 Report of the Audit Committee 66 Report of the Nomination Committee 68 Directors’ Remuneration Report More information online: 76 Directors’ Report Our website gives you fast, 81 Independent Auditor’s Report direct access to a wide range of Company information. Financial statements / ascential.com 90 Consolidated statement of profit or loss 91 Consolidated statement of other comprehensive income Follow us on social media: 92 Consolidated statement of financial position linkedin.com search ‘Ascential’ 93 Consolidated statement of changes in equity 94 Consolidated statement of cash flows twitter.com @Ascential_ 95 Notes to the financial statements 128 Parent Company balance sheet 129 Parent Company statement of changes in equity 130 Notes to the Company financial statements 01 STRATEGIC REPORT 02 03 Ascential plc/Annual Report 2018 Strategic report 2018 IN SUMMARY ASCENTIAL IS A SPECIALIST, GLOBAL INFORMATION COMPANY THAT HELPS THE WORLD’S MOST AMBITIOUS BUSINESSES WIN IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY. 2018 has been a year of refining the acquisition of WARC, the digital subscription this vision. We came to the conclusion that shape of our business to support our product for marketing effectiveness. At although these brands were market leading, customers more directly in three key MediaLink we made good progress reshaping there were clearer opportunities to deploy areas of their operations: Product the business to align with our strategic goals. capital in higher growth segments, better Design, Marketing and Sales. In practice, this means an increased focus aligned to our mission. As such, we sold the on our work with brands and we expect to business to ITE Group in July for £300m. This Within our Product Design segment, the see the fruits of this reshaping in 2019. year we also acquired WARC, BrandView (now strategy to focus the core business on part of Edge) and FlyWheel, the managed driving greater efficiency, pushing harder in In our Sales segment we saw strong growth services business for brands on Amazon. emerging markets and rolling out the new in the ecommerce analytics products, along products was successful. We saw continued with the combination of existing (One Click In the face of such change, we have put great growth in WGSN, with product lines Retail, Clavis Insight, Planet Retail RNG) efforts into building a strong culture within such as Insight gaining increasing traction, and acquired (BrandView) businesses to Ascential, placing great emphasis on Learning providing brands and manufacturers with form Edge by Ascential. We also launched and Development, harmonising our performance the trend and consumer insight they need. two new editions of Money20/20: Asia in management process, rewarding our people at Singapore and China in Hangzhou, as well quarterly and annual awards and laying solid 2018 was a more challenging year for our as successfully relocating Money20/20 foundations for our Corporate Responsibility Marketing segment, with both Cannes Lions Europe to a larger venue in Amsterdam. and Diversity and Inclusion strategies. Our and MediaLink reporting declines in revenue. Women in Leadership work is a pleasing first Nevertheless, Cannes Lions enjoyed a We saw continued strong performance from step and garnered much interest internally. successful reset: refining its offering and making our Built Environment & Policy segment fundamental changes to the format of the for 2018, with all three brands contributing event, including shortening the festival to five double-digit growth in the year. days, and restructuring the awards categories to reflect changes to the industries they serve. The announcement of the strategic review These changes met with positive customer and the subsequent sale of the Exhibitions reaction (including a record high NPS score) business was an important milestone. Having and strong support from key stakeholders. set out a clear strategy for our Company, we Cannes Lions also extended its digital offering conducted an assessment of these assets to with the launch of The Work followed by the explore whether they were compatible with 04 Governance Financial statements Strategic report 2018 was a successful year of transformation, with the adoption of new business segments aligned to our clear strategy to serve our customers in the digital economy. REVENUE1 ORGANIC REVENUE GROWTH1 £348.5m 6.3% /2017: £292.9m/ ADJUSTED EBITDA1 ADJUSTED EBITDA MARGIN1 £101.8m 29.2% /2017: £94.7m/ /2017: 32.3%/ ADJUSTED DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE1 NET DEBT LEVERAGE1 15.3p 1.1x /2017: 13.6p/ /2017: 2.3x/ 1 From continuing operations. 05 Ascential plc/Annual Report 2018 Strategic report COMPANY OVERVIEW PRODUCT DESIGN MARKETING Unlock trends that enable our Unlock insight and connections for customers to design for tomorrow’s better decision making and more consumer, today targeted campaigns REVENUE REVENUE £78m £116m /2017: £74m/ /2017: £111m/ The leading global supplier of trend forecasts, market intelligence and The world’s largest and most widely recognised international benchmark insight to design-orientated consumer businesses. and festival for creativity in the branded communications industry. Strategic advisory firm serving partners at the intersection of media, marketing, advertising, entertainment, technology and finance. Global digital subscription based business that helps brands, agencies and media platforms assess marketing effectiveness across all channels. 06 Governance Financial statements Strategic report SALES BUILT ENVIRONMENT & POLICY Unlock data, analytics and industry- Unlock critical intelligence across specific platforms to maximise environmental property risk, distribution opportunities and construction and government policy drive growth REVENUE REVENUE £121m £34m /2017: £78m/ /2017: £31m/ The leading congress in the payments and financial services innovation Market leading provider of environmental risk data. sector, focusing on the evolution of payment and financial services through mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. The recently integrated digital retail strategy and analytics business, Provider of construction project sales leads, industry data, analysis, offering sales and share measurement, digital shelf performance, price forecasting and company intelligence. and promotion analysis and global retail trends information. A provider of managed services to brands on Amazon. A leading provider of political intelligence and monitoring services in the UK and EU. World Retail Congress, which brings together the leaders of the global retail industry, and Retail Week, an events and information services business. 07 Ascential plc/Annual Report 2018 Strategic report GEOGRAPHIC PRESENCE NORTH AMERICA 44% SOUTH AMERICA 4% 2018 Proforma revenue by country of destination (location of customers) 08 Governance Financial statements Strategic report UNITED KINGDOM Key 23% Ascential offices REST OF EUROPE 16% ASIA PACIFIC 11% MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA 2% 09 Ascential plc/Annual Report 2018 Strategic report CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S STATEMENT Continued record of organic growth Our strategy and focus on the digital Revenue from continuing operations was economy has delivered another year of £348.5m (2017: £292.9m), a reported growth strong growth in 2018, further amplified of 19.0% and an Organic growth of 6.3% or by recent high growth acquisitions. 9.6% on a Proforma basis. We have grown EBITDA by 3.8% on an Organic basis and by 12.5% on a Proforma basis and delivered an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 29.2% (2017: 32.3%), allowing for the acquisition of higher growth, lower margin, businesses whilst continuing our planned investment to support our market leadership in our core markets. Operating model based on Our performance reflects customer needs the value that customers Following the completion of the disposal of the Exhibitions business in July 2018, we place on our critical adopted a new operating model to align with information. our strategy of serving the needs of customers in Product Design, Marketing and Sales: • Product Design: global trend forecasting and Duncan Painter / Chief Executive Officer insight (WGSN) • Marketing: global creative benchmark, effectiveness measurement and strategic advisory (Cannes Lions, WARC, MediaLink) • Sales: global ecommerce data, analytics and managed services, FinTech consumer payments and retail intelligence (Edge, Flywheel Digital, Money20/20, RWRC) Ascential also powers political, construction and environmental intelligence brands DeHavilland, Glenigan and Groundsure, which form a fourth operating segment, Built Environment & Policy. The shape of our business going into 2019 has directly benefited from our transformation, with a higher mix of subscription based revenue streams with faster growth levels. A year of developing our critical capabilities Our strategic goal is to be the specialised information provider that ensures our customers, who are primarily organisations who create and distribute consumer products,