Dow Jones UPDATE: Parallel Media’s True Value Over GBP15 Mill - CEO
Dow Jones Newswires
October 07, 2008
LONDON (Dow Jones)--The chairman of Parallel Media Group PLC (PAA.LN), the provider of sports media, marketing and management and sponsorship advisory services, Tuesday said he thinks the true value of the company is more than GBP15 million.
Chairman David Ciclitira told Dow Jones Newswires: "Although our market cap isn't much over GBP1 million, we've got assets which can't go on the balance sheet worth around GBP15 million.
"We think being a small public company in sport is a very good space to be in. We've got two great areas which will sustain us for the coming years - sport in Asia and the Olympics here in London - and I think 2010 and 2011 will be great years for us."
All of the activities we're involved with are long-term, such as our contract with OMEGA in the Golf World Cup until 2018. These are our assets but we can't class them as such on the balance sheet."
He also said: "We think our share price will go up around 10 times its current price in the next few years, as I think we're very undervalued. We think people will realize the true value of the company, which I also think will vastly increase in a few years."
Ciclitira said he sees the London 2012 Olympic Games as the group's key source of revenue for the coming years. He said: "We think being a small public company in sport is a very good space to be in. We've got two great areas which will sustain us for the coming years - sport in Asia and the Olympics here in London - and I think 2010 and 2011 will be great years for us."
The group posted turnover more than doubled to GBP4.8 million for the six months ended June 30, mainly due to the staging of the inaugural Ballantine's Golf Championship.
Although the group posted a pre-tax loss of GBP346,000 in the period, Ciclitira said: "We're expecting to be profitable this year. Despite each new event we're involved in adding to our overheads, we have the capability to grow the business.”
"We want to bring the number of events we're involved in from three to eight, and the plan is to add roughly one event each year."
The company is the exclusive commercial partner to GCap Media for the London Olympics, with which it will develop multimedia sponsorship, event and consulting opportunities in the four years leading up to the games.
Ciclitira said: "The sponsors of the Olympics are the likes of McDonalds and they're spending GBP3 billion no matter what happens in the economy.
"Our aim is to secure sponsorship packages with them and I think we will also end up working with some of the Olympic competitors in the future on the back of that too.
"Our forecasts haven't accounted for the Olympics and I think this coming period will take us up to and beyond expectations."
Company Web site: www.parallelmediagroup.com
By HANNAH BENJAMIN of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
