Companies: ESN   

Acquisitive sports marketing specialist Essentially continues to grow fast, having delivered a bumper set of interim results and added ex-test cricketer Alec Stewart’s Arundel Promotions to the fold through acquisition.

Earlier addition Sportseen, a pitch-side advertising business purchased for £9m in April, made only a small contribution as its major revenue period only begins now. Nevertheless in the six months to June, Essentially lifted revenues 240% to £5.9m – including ‘double digit’ organic growth – with profits before tax and exceptionals rising 224% to £749,000 and earnings per share up by 36% to 0.3p.

The figures were much improved by a full contribution from a cricket marketing business acquired last year, where prospects are being boosted by cricket’s new commercial paradigm, including the cash-rich Indian Premier League and Stanford Twenty20. Also benefiting is Essentially's player management arm, the largest in the cricket and rugby worlds, which enjoyed cricketers’ wage inflation of around 10% last year and contributed 20% of interim sales.

In line with the rest of the media sector however, Essentially’s shares have taken a dive over concerns about falling advertising budgets. Chief executive Bart Campbell admits sponsors are being more selective but remains confident that ‘spending will therefore be more targeted on the events that deliver’ – and is happy therefore to have the rights to sell advertising for next summer’s Ashes tour and be commercial agent for the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Lions tour of South Africa.

Forecast by house broker Cenkos to deliver earnings per share of 1.6p from £3.6m profits this year, Essentially's current rating looks too low.

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Essentially Group	AIM	£9.85m	5.00p	-0.25p
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