In announcing its results to December 31 2003, the company revealed that despite the largely unchanged profits of £23.8m, turnover was up 1.4% to £174.4m. Haymarket chairman Lord Heseltine said he was "pleased" with the "steady performance" of the group.
He said: "As we predicted last year, turnover and profits have remained flat where we have faced tough conditions in some of our core markets, but this did not deter us from pursuing our growth plans both in the UK and overseas, shown by the increase in our development expenditure to £2.7m."
Investments made by the company through 2004 include the launch of childcare and welfare sector weekly trade publication Children Now. This followed the launch of Young People Now in 2003.
This month a new consumer title, Rip & Burn, was launched, focusing on the emerging interest in music downloads. The company also acquired environmental reporting firm Environmental Data Services.
In exhibitions, Haymarket signed an agreement with the Royal Agricultural Society of England in April to form a new joint venture, Haymarket Land Events, which has taken over the management of the Royal Show and a range of other events in the farming and agricultural sector.
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