Be Heard Group PLC Trading Update (8956W)

TIDMBHRD

RNS Number : 8956W

Be Heard Group PLC

16 December 2019

For Approval

16.12.2019

Be Heard Group plc

Trading update

Be Heard Group plc ("Be Heard" or the "Group") (AIM: BHRD), the digital marketing services group, today announces the following trading update ahead of its announcement of the Group's results for the year ending 31 December 2019, which is expected to be released in late April 2020.

Trading performance

The full year outlook for the Group remains unchanged, with reported EBITDA (post IFRS 16)(1) expected to be in line with market expectations. The Group's digital and insight businesses continue to perform well, offsetting the disappointing decline that the Group has experienced in its more traditional and creative businesses, which is in line with recent announcements from several of the Group's competitors.

David Morrison, Non-Executive Chairman of Be Heard plc, commented:

"For many companies in our universe, particularly those operating in the more traditional creative and marketing sectors, the past twelve months have been challenging. For Be Heard, 2019 has, particularly in the context of prevailing market conditions and competitor performance, been a successful year in which the Group has made demonstrable progress across a broad range of metrics including: new business wins, growth from the established client base and improved cost and working capital management.

Looking to 2020, we expect the economic and market conditions to be broadly similar to those of 2019. This, coupled with our financial constraints, means that in order to deliver growth we will have to be more innovative, more responsive and more agile than our competitors in responding to changing client needs. However, we will enter the new year with a reasonable level of booked business and a guardedly positive outlook."

Note 1: Reported EBITDA which includes the impact of IFRS 16 (Leases) is Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortisation and excludes; share based payments charge, abortive costs and restructuring/redundancy costs.

For further information please contact:

   Be Heard Group plc                                        [phone] 

Simon Pyper - Chief Executive Officer

Ben Rudman - Chief Operating Officer

   Cairn Financial Advisers - Nomad              [phone] 

Jo Turner / Tony Rawlinson

   Dowgate - Broker                                          [phone] 

James Serjeant

   Hudson Sandler- Financial PR                    [phone] 

Nick Lyon

This announcement may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this announcement and include statements regarding the directors' of Be Heard (the "Directors") current intentions, beliefs or expectations concerning, among other things, Be Heard's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and Be Heard's markets. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Actual results and developments could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement are based on certain factors and assumptions, including the Directors' current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to Be Heard's operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. Whilst the Directors consider these assumptions to be reasonable based upon information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Save as required by applicable law or by the AIM Rules for Companies, Be Heard undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to any change in the Directors' expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement.

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This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [e-mail] or visit www.rns.com.

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December 16, 2019 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)