In what has felt a febrile market, the recent pre-close trading update was reassuringly brief and solid. Life continues largely as normal for Next Fifteen. Acquisitions made over the last few years are delivering strong growth; providing management with a good opportunity to actively manage the North American portfolio; where the Text100 and Bite agencies are being merged. The acquisition of Planning-inc continues the wellestablished pattern of NFC paying attractive initial multiples for fast growing and profitable digital marketing assets, often with highly specific and niche applications. NFC’s track record here speaks volumes to the focus and rigour of management’s approach. The NFC forward PE has come down a notch or two (alongside the peer group) and currently stands at 13.8x on a Calendar 2019 basis. We believe this reflects a moderation of market risk appetite rather than a specific judgement on NFC.
11 Feb 2019
Trading update and Acquisition of Planning-inc
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Trading update and Acquisition of Planning-inc
Next 15 Group plc (NFG:LON) | 918 -9.2 (-0.1%) | Mkt Cap: 911.6m
- Published:
11 Feb 2019 -
Author:
Iain Daly -
Pages:
5
In what has felt a febrile market, the recent pre-close trading update was reassuringly brief and solid. Life continues largely as normal for Next Fifteen. Acquisitions made over the last few years are delivering strong growth; providing management with a good opportunity to actively manage the North American portfolio; where the Text100 and Bite agencies are being merged. The acquisition of Planning-inc continues the wellestablished pattern of NFC paying attractive initial multiples for fast growing and profitable digital marketing assets, often with highly specific and niche applications. NFC’s track record here speaks volumes to the focus and rigour of management’s approach. The NFC forward PE has come down a notch or two (alongside the peer group) and currently stands at 13.8x on a Calendar 2019 basis. We believe this reflects a moderation of market risk appetite rather than a specific judgement on NFC.