2008 News Releases

Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2008

29 July

Strong first half performance

H1 revenues, profits and EPS ahead of expectations; interim dividend raised 15.7%

H1 2008 headline results

• Profits at UBM's four technology businesses up 29% to £21.1m, margins exceed 20%
• CMPMedica turnaround ahead of plan; profits up 44% to £17.3m
• CMP Asia delivers strong profit growth of 30% to £9.5m
• Four market-focused businesses created from CMP Information
• PR Newswire increases investment in customer service systems & emerging economies
• Commonwealth integrated OAG successfully; RISI performing strongly
• Events, business information & news distribution generate 85% of H1 profits
• UBM margin maintained at over 20%
• Acquisitions performing ahead of UBM's 8% post-tax cost of capital threshold
• Strong balance sheet; net debt of £181.1m at 30 June
• Strong cash generation - cash conversion up to 91% from 81%

* Adjusted group operating profit is group operating profit before amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisitions, exceptional items and share of taxation on profit in joint ventures and associates (see page 6).
** Adjusted EPS is before amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisitions, exceptional items, deferred tax on intangible assets and net finance costs other than interest (see note 8 on page 22).

David Levin, Chief Executive of United Business Media Limited said:

"United Business Media has achieved good results for the first half of 2008, delivering adjusted Earning Per Share growth of 15%. The Board has declared an interim dividend of 5.6p, an increase of 15.7% over 2007's interim dividend. We are on track to deliver another good full year performance."

"United Business Media's consistent growth in earnings per share is evidence of continued success in our strategic development of UBM as a set of focused b2b media businesses which offer integrated suites of media products tailored for specific professional and commercial communities. We continue to direct our businesses towards vertical b2b markets and geographies that provide opportunities for sustainable, profitable growth. Our businesses are generating a growing proportion of their revenues and profits from products which take advantage of the long term structural changes taking place in media markets."

"In the first half of 2008 85% of our profits were derived from tradeshows and exhibitions, business intelligence products and services, and news distribution activities. We continue to drive strategic change within our businesses, developing their organisational and management structures to improve market focus, reshaping product portfolios to better meet customer needs, and repositioning and expanding our businesses in growth markets. The reorganisation of our technology business into four separate market-focused operations in early 2008 is proving successful, with aggregate revenue growth of 11.1% and margins exceeding 20%. Following this model we have implemented a similar reorganisation at CMP Information, again creating four market-oriented businesses. We believe the new businesses' greater independence and agility, coupled with their improved operating cost structure, will enable them to better meet the needs of the professional and commercial communities they serve. Actions taken at CMPMedica have also proved successful with good revenue performance and margins improving from 13.9% to 17.3% in the first half. We are investing to grow PR Newswire's business in emerging economies, as well as in its online services and customer support infrastructure and have reorganised its management to achieve greater focus on sales and IT operations. In aggregate our events revenues grew, as expected, by more than 10% in the first half of the year."

"Our balance sheet remains strong, the result of our disciplined approach to the deployment of capital and our acquisitions continue to deliver results ahead of UBM's 8% post-tax cost of capital. We continue to invest in acquisitions of ‘bolt-on' assets that complement existing UBM product portfolios and businesses. In the year to date we have invested a total of £32.1m in ten acquisitions. As conditions in credit markets and in some geographies deteriorate further, we believe we will be increasingly well placed to make selective acquisitions to accelerate the development of UBM and its businesses."

Outlook
"With a proven integrated media business model and a set of diversified businesses operating across a range of vertical markets and geographies, UBM is well placed to weather the adverse economic conditions affecting some markets and some geographies. Forward bookings across UBM's major events scheduled for the second half of the year - including CPhI's flagship European and Indian shows, Furniture China, the Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair and the Black Hat IT security show in the US – are 10% ahead of the previous year. Bookings for key 2009 events – including the biennial events Marintec China in Shanghai and Food Ingredients Europe in Frankfurt - are 10% ahead of the previous events. We are on track to deliver another good full year performance."

– Ends –

Contacts

Notes to Editors

1. About United Business Media Limited
United Business Media Limited is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print, and with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information, go to www.unitedbusinessmedia.com.

2. UBM events highlighted in release
Black Hat – Black Hat has grown from a single annual event in Las Vegas in 1997 to a global conference series with annual events in Tokyo, Amsterdam, Las Vegas and Washington DC. Black Hat brings together thought leaders from all facets of the information security world – from the corporate and government sectors to academic and even underground researchers. For more information, go to www.blackhat.com

CPhI Worldwide – Launched in 1990 as an international convention on pharmaceutical ingredients, CPhI Worldwide is the flagship of the global CPhI event franchise, attracting more than 20,000 industry professionals and some 1,500 exhibiting companies from over 110 countries. CPhI Worldwide 2008 will be held in Frankfurt in September. For more information, go to www.cphi.com

Food Ingredients Europe – Food Ingredients Europe brings together food ingredient manufacturers, suppliers and distributors from all over the world. The show is one of the key shows in the Ingredients event portfolio which includes Health Ingredients, Food Ingredients Processing Safety & Services and Natural Ingredients. These shows take place around the world. For more information, see www.fi-events.com

Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair - The Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair has been running for more than 20 years and is now the biggest jewellery fair in Asia. CMP Asia’s jewellery and watch portfolio includes events in Shanghai, Shenzen, Guangzhou, Macau, Tokyo, Channai and Hyderabad. The Hong Kong Jewellery & Watch Fair showcases fine finished jewellery, polished diamonds and gemstones, pearls, jewellery timepieces, packaging, displays and jewellery-making equipment, tools and machinery. The show attracts over 2,500 exhibitors from 48 countries/regions and more than 38,000 visitors from 138 countries/regions. For more information, go to http://exhibitions.jewellerynetasia.com/exhibitions/

Marintec China – For the past 28 years, Marintec China has been the meeting place for international maritime industry professionals from around the world. The Marintec China 2007 event was attended by more than 35,000 visitors and 1,100 exhibitors from 87 countries and regions. For more information, go to www.marintecchina.com

Disclaimer
This press release includes statements which are not historical facts and are considered “forward-looking” within the meaning of Section 27 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These forward-looking statements reflect UBM's current views about future events, business and growth strategy and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “on target” and similar expressions identifying forward-looking statements. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from UBM’s expectations. UBM expressly does not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements. Management does not attempt to update forecasts unless conditions materially change.

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