Dawson Holdings PLC

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• Dawson Holdings PLC
• Interim Results
• to 31st March 2001

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KEY FEATURES OF THE HALF YEAR

• Magazine sales down 2
• Dawson Marketing services disappointing
• But.
• Books and Inflight in line
• Actions now in place to improve performance
• Increased certainty over News Wholesale industry
  concerns

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SUMMARY OF RESULTS
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Segmental Results
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News Wholesale
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News Wholesale

• Sales revenue
• Overall up 1.4
• Newspapers minus 1.4
• Regional Press, Evening Standard
• Magazines minus 2.0
• Reported sales boosted by low margin mobile
  telephone top up cards
• Premier Park back on course

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News Wholesale

• Business Development
• Regional Press
• Cost rationalisation
• Industry discussions
• Uncertainty with sale of WH Smith News
• New magazine launches

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Magazine sales last twenty years
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Books
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Books

• Sales in UK academic market grow 10
• European sales overall grow 14
• USA sales down 3
• Current facilities at capacity
• Relocation before end September hence onerous
  lease provisions
• Closure of Back Issues before end September

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Books

• Business Development
• USA new management team focussing on sales
• European markets
• Relocation to increase capacity
• Enhanced web-based product offerings
• enterbooks.com
• enterprofile.com
• UK consortia business growth - higher and further
  education
• continuation of strategy of quality service

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Marketing Media Services
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Marketing Media Services

• High costs of distributing travel brochures over
  winter peak
• volume growth exceeded capacity
• distribution management changed
• Major clients reduce marketing spend
• Inflight extends operations to Brussels
• Hand delivery operations to be scaled back

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Marketing Media Services

• Business Development
• Linked packing and distribution system for
  brochures introduced
• Extended use of News Wholesale branches for
  brochure distribution
• 13 branches now used for daily distribution
• Sales team focused on marketing support
  activities
• Increase customer base in Brussels
• looking at other northern European centres
• Closure of non economic ancillary activities

15
Financing

• Higher interest costs as acquisitions part way
  through last year
• Long-term facilities agreed with existing banks
• increased facilities
• extended periods
• Dividend maintained

16
Group Development

• Maximise synergies between activities
• use of wholesale network for brochure
  distribution
• use of fleet for books delivery
• other divisions utilise wholesale central
  functions
• shared IT infrastructure and skills
• Offer clients a one stop marketing support
  services
• Concentration on high street logistics
• Extend Books and Inflight European activities

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Outlook
Our goal is to create an integrated value-added
distribution network based on our strong presence
in niche markets

• Action taken to improve margins in all divisions
• Industry conditions improving
• magazine market
• structural improvement
• Financing in place for our long-term requirements