Car manual publisher Haynes posts jump in profit as digital shift pays off
Haynes Publishing Group has posted a sharp rise in revenue and profit for the full year as the car manual specialist’s digital shift helped drive business in its corporate division.
Read more: Shares in car manual publisher Haynes soar as it eyes sharp profit growth
The figures
Haynes posted a seven per cent increase in revenue to £36.2m in the year to the end of May.
Pre-tax profit jumped 24 per cent to £3.6m.
Net cash almost doubled to £4.9m.
Haynes held its dividend at 7.5p.
Why it’s interesting
Haynes, known for its iconic car manuals, heralded its third successive year of revenue and profit growth as it continued to steer clear of a downturn in the wider publishing sector.
The Somerset-based company has continued to refocus its attention on its Haynespro corporate offering, which received 1bn data access requests over a rolling 12-month period.
The firm’s professional offering is now the key driver of growth, with revenue rising 20 per cent to £19.5m over the year.
Meanwhile, demand for Haynes’s consumer manuals continued to wane, with revenue slipping four per cent to £17.7m.
Nevertheless, the company has fuelled growth in its consumer division by bundling manuals together with its data services, and Haynes said it was committed to its traditional products.
“As long as there are individuals that want to work on their own vehicles, we will be the premium provider,” chief executive John Haynes Jr told City PM.
Haynes pulls in the majority of its revenue from Europe, but has proved a hit in the US with its range of manuals for Ford and Chevrolet pick-up trucks.
In addition, Haynes continued its change of gear towards digital products, with revenue from online manuals and data solutions rising 20 per cent to £20.2m. Digital products now represent 56 per cent of the group’s total revenue.
Haynes, which also publishes lifestyle manuals covering topics including sport, pets and sci-fi, revealed it was debt free for the first time since 2013, with net cash almost doubling over the year.
Shares in the publishing firm rose almost eight per cent in early trading.
Read more: Haynes shares soar as growing digital business boosts half-year results
What Haynes said
“Our continued programme of product innovation, data integration and growing content coverage allows the group to deliver integrated work-flow solutions for our growing base of global partners,” said chairman Eddie Bell.
“Through the extensive automotive knowledge and technological expertise we possess in the business, we are accelerating the linking of the group’s content and datasets and our teams are well positioned to deliver new and exciting global growth opportunities for the Haynes Group.”
Main image credit: Getty