02 ubm – today
04 financial highlights – 2004
06 media marketing solutions
08 chairman’s review
10 chief executive’s review
12 operating review
14 financial review
16 board of directors
18 major ubm products
20 magazines
22 events
24 directories
26 online
28 news distribution
30 media intelligencenew pr newswire products
32 market research
35 accounts contents
36 directors’ remuneration report
44 corporate governance statement
47 independent auditors’ repor t to the members of
united business media plc
48 report of the directors
50 group profit and loss account
51 balance sheets
52 group cash flow statement
53 statement of group total recognised gains and losses
53 reconciliation of movements in group shareholders’
funds
54 group accounting policies
57 notes to the financial statements
85 principal group subsidiaries
86 five year financial summary
86 financial calendar
87 reconciliation of differences between uk gaap and
international financial reporting standards ifrs
ibc shareholder information
2004 – an  excellent performance
intelligent media       integrated multiplatform marketing solutions
p20 p22 p24
                                                                                        01
n  excellent performance
united business media plc httpwwwunitedbusinessmediacom is a leading
provider of business information services to the technology healthcare
media automotive financial services and property industries
2004 saw ubm become a more balanced and predictable business
      integrated multiplatform marketing solutions
p26 p28 p30 p32
operating profit increased by 331 per cent
        02
ubm – today
what
living our va lues really means…
ubm offers market leading b2b information services to customers across the globe
revenue growth by geography
proforma
grew 3
grew 8
online
2004£33m
europe
200441
grew 5 asia
pacific
20047
us
200452
print 
2004£320m
events
2004£130m
grew 9
news
distribution
2004£83m
prn new
products
2004£11m
2
grew 3
grew 37
grew 24
market
research
2004£223m
grew 5
revenue growth by media channel
underlying
                              03
va lues really means…
we explore as individuals teams businesses 
and as a group because we
 pursue creativity innovation and new opportunities
 seek continuous improvement
 take intelligent risks
 learn from our successes and failures
 listen to constructive feedback – and that’s so important 
we exceed because as individuals teams businesses
and as a group we
 anticipate meet and exceed expectations
 understand our customers’ businesses and create long lasting relationships
 value our employees’ diverse talents and support them to exceed their
own expectations
 treat each other fairly and justly
 recognise that sometimes we have to make difficult decisions but we
commit to communicating as much as we can as soon as we can
you excel because
 success for our customers and our business partners
is success for us
 enabling our employees to excel is central to our
success
 delivering shareholder value is crucial to us
 being a good neighbour and a good business
citizen is a key priority
 we celebrate success – so work hard work smart
and have fun


Summary:
 08
chairman’s review
2004 has been a very strong year for ubm group operating
profit increased by 331 to £1323 million 2003 £994
million earnings per share increased by 364 to 326p
2003 239p the board is recommending a final dividend
of 837p 2003 57p bringing the total dividend for the
year to 120p 2003 90p an increase of 333 reflecting
the strong performance during the year and the directors’
confidence in the outlook for the future
the group has intensified its focus on an integrated multi
media strategy harnessing technology to give our customers
more responsive feedback on the effectiveness of their spend
and leveraging ubm’s strong online positions across all its
channels to market – an integrated multimedia proposition
we are continuing to invest significantly in this area and our
organic initiatives have contributed to an underlying revenue
growth for the group of 32
during the year we acquired certain medimedia businesses
now cmpmedica which now makes healthcare our largest
sector and gives a more balanced sectoral spread since the
yearend we have announced three more acquisitions all of
which are a strong strategic fit and also meet our exacting
financial criteria over the last 2 years all acquisitions have
exceeded their business case at the end of january 2005
we announced that we were undertaking a strategic review
of our market research business which includes the
possibility of a sale of these assets
our balance sheet is strong helped by a reduction in the tax
creditor from £3085m to £2080m
at the heart of any organisation are its people and the values
they embrace during the year significant work has been
done to define our values more closely the board takes very
seriously adherence to these values because they are so
important to the perception of ubm from customers
suppliers potential employees and shareholders to all our
employees on behalf of the board a sincere thank you for
the tremendous results you have achieved during the year
i am also pleased to welcome two new nonexecutive
directors to the board chris hyman joined in may and
sandy leitch in january 2005 both bring significant
experience to the board
2004 was also memorable because at the yearend we
announced that at the beginning of april 2005 david levin
would succeed clive hollick as ceo of ubm it was always
clear to me and the rest of the board that clive’s succession
was likely to be one of the most significant items ‘on my
watch’
clive has been at the helm of ubm in its various incarnations
for over 30 years – in itself a staggering feat from the early
roots in hambro’s in 1974 then vavasseur the money broking
business was formed in mai this was then nurtured and
significant value returned to shareholders in 1998 he was a
founding director of nop world in 1989 – his patience
encouragement and foresight has grown it to its current
form in 1991 he was a founder of meridian broadcasting
which then formed the heart of our developing tv assets
which we sold in 2000 for £175billion – returning £125
billion to shareholders similarly he has nurtured our stake in
channel 5 from its foundation in 1995 to the valuable and
growing asset that it is today these are just a few examples
of the pattern spot an opportunity invest grow and develop
it be patient then when and if the timing is right realise the
value for shareholders his record is a matter of public record
and one that is extremely difficult to match over such a long
period of time furthermore it is still intact he also
developed a strong internal team such that we had a choice
of several worthy internal successors to consider
the succession process that we adopted was clear and
rigorous in the end the board concluded that david levin
was the strongest candidate to succeed clive – no easy task
by any means david’s experience includes a successful track
record in publishing with euromoney then with psion and
currently as ceo of symbian he has exemplary people skills
deep knowledge of publishing and technology and extensive
experience in international markets – the far east europe
and usa he has an impressive operational background with
a strong record of strategic execution we are all excited
about him joining and heading up ubm
when i was contemplating joining the board in 1996
i thought with clive at the helm life would not be boring
i have not been disappointed clive you leave the group in
tremendous shape sincere thanks to you from everyone at
ubm – we will miss you but we also have a worthy successor
geoff unwin
chairman
24 february 2005
      09
“in the end the board concluded that
david levin was the strongest
candidate to succeed clive – no easy
task by any means david’s experience
includes a successful track record in
publishing with euromoney then with
psion and currently as ceo of symbian
he has exemplary people skills deep
knowledge of publishing and
technology and extensive experience
in international markets – the far east
europe and usa he has an impressive
operational background with a
strong record of strategic execution
we are all excited about him joining
and heading up ubm”
2004 has been a very strong year for ubm group operating profit increased by
331 to £1323 million 2003 £994 million earnings per share increased by
364 to 326p 2003 239p the board is recommending a final dividend of
837p 2003 57p bringing the total dividend for the year to 120p 2003 90p
an increase of 333 reflecting the strong performance during the year and the
directors’ confidence in the outlook for the future
 before amortisation of goodwill and exceptional items
“when i was contemplating joining the
board in 1996 i thought with clive at
the helm life would not be boring
i have not been disappointed clive you
leave the group in tremendous shape
sincere thanks to you from everyone
at ubm – we will miss you but we also
have a worthy successor”