The Mission Marketing Group plc 

Close Period update

26 January 2012

The Mission Marketing Group plc (the mission^tm, AIM: TMMG), the national marketing communications and advertising group, today issued the following close period update for the year ended 31 December 2011.

Last year, we set clear goals for the future:

·      to focus on our core business;

·      to provide even greater value to our Clients;

·      to improve our profitability through growth and cost reductions;

·      to pay down debt; and

·      to encourage an atmosphere that drives success. 

The results for 2011 again demonstrate our continued progress:

·      Increased revenue, from winning new Clients, developing existing Clients, and expanding via new ventures, additional talent and strategic in-fill acquisitions;

·      Increased operating profits, from revenue growth and a reduction in central costs;

·      Reduced net debt, gearing ratio and debt leverage, from a focus on cash management.

Trading for the full year has been in line with expectations.  As predicted at the interim stage, trading again had a bias towards the second half of the year, with operating income and profit ahead of both the first half and the equivalent period in 2010. 

In addition to the Group's principal focus, on organic growth, three small but significant deals have been completed in the year which bring strengths and opportunities to complement and enhance our existing Agencies and the services we provide to our Clients:

·      Creation of a new and very talented Healthcare Agency

·      Purchase of a thriving social media unit, and

·      Regional expansion through acquisition by our specialist Automotive Agency. 

Each of these deals demonstrates that we are executing on our strategy, of seeking new ventures, additional talent and strategic acquisitions to accelerate growth, in a careful and selective way.

Strong cash flow is expected to reduce net debt at 31 December 2011 to £15.4m, further lowering our gearing (net debt to equity) and leverage (net bank debt to pre-exceptional EBITDA) ratios.  The latter has fallen from x3.3 at 31 December 2010 to nearly x2.3 at 31 December 2011 and is expected to fall below x2 over the next six months.

We are confident that 2012 will see us continue to out-perform our competitors given the talent and capabilities we have in our Agencies.  Whilst recent wins and new assignments have provided us with a great platform to go into the new year with, we will continue to tread cautiously by holding costs and focus on our core Objectives.

We are looking forward to the challenges ahead without being overtly dithyrambic.

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the mission^tm is a national marketing communications and advertising  group with 14 offices across the UK. The Group specialises in providing national and international clients with award winning marketing, advertising and business communications. Group members include April-Six, Big Communications, Bray Leino, RLA, Robson Brown, Story and ThinkBDW.  the mission^tm employs almost 700 staff nationally and is listed on AIM (TMMG).

www.themission.co.uk