Earnings per share were down 33.9 per cent to 18.1p. United said that it was making an exceptional goodwill write-off of £370m on the value of its professional media division in the UK.
The group reported that current trading was weak and that in the last five months its high-tech US publishing business, CMP Media, had seen revenues running at about 40% below 2000 levels, with no sign of an improvement.
It was also hit by a sharp decline in advertising revenue at Channel 5, but said that the channel increased its audience share to 6% and is performing well in 2002.
Lord Clive Hollick, CEO of United, said that 2001 was one of the toughest trading periods the group has experienced, as the slump in technology advertising halved group profits.
Despite the bad news, Lord Hollick was upbeat, highlighting how United had grown its market share and substantially reduced its cost base for 2002 -- by £110m. He also pointed to strong performance at its NOP arm and PR Newswire.
He said that United was prepared to spend as much as £400m on new acquisitions, based on current levels of income.
"United has a strong balance sheet and a good cash flow to support our strategy of building our core markets through increased organic investment and acquisition, particularly in the market research and information sectors," said Lord Hollick.
Shares in United were trading down by 1.1% at 9am this morning, worth 592p -- 6.5p off yesterday's closing price.
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