Yell hides poor results behind name change
YELL Group, the struggling publisher of the Yellow Pages, yesterday unveiled a new name as it posted a £1.2bn loss.
Subject to shareholder approval, the group will be renamed Hibu, pronounced high-boo, as part of its attempt to change its fortunes.
But the re-brand, which would have cost the company hundreds of thousands in consulting fees, accompanied Yell’s full year results in which the debt-riddled company fell to loss and reported a 14 per cent revenue decline to £1.6bn.
Yell posted a loss of £1.2bn, compared to a £47m profit last year.
Its print directory division continued to tumble, with revenues down 21 per cent to £1.1bn, while its digital directories arm fell by 11 per cent to £327m.
The ailing company found a small lifeline in its digital services division, where revenues more than doubled to £134m, boosting total digital sales by seven per cent.
Yell, which is currently undergoing a drastic transformation due to its enormous debt pile, said it reduced its net debt by a fifth, or by £565m, to £2.2bn.
Its shares tanked by almost a quarter, closing at 2.4p – a fraction of its almost £6 high five years ago.