VS&A REPORTS 1999 REVENUE INCREASE FOR THREE BUSINESS COMM, CATEGORIES.

All three major business information categories reported strong revenue growth for 1999, according to the 18th annual Veronis Suhler Communications Industry Report. The report said that almost all the major companies in the "Business-to-Business Communications," "Professional, Educational and Training Media" (PETM) and "Business Information Services" (BIS) categories showed increased revenue and net incomes.

The report said that with the purchase of CNP Media, United News & Media ($1.8 billion in revenues) became the second largest publicly-reporting b2b communications company next to Reed Elsevier ($2.3 billion). The top companies in the category, including Primedia ($1.05 billion), McGraw-Hill ($1.03 billion) and Ziff Davis ($702 million), accounted for 81.5% of all category revenues.

Revenues for companies in the PETM category rose 13.3% in 1999 to $14.8 billion. VS&A said the segment is dominated by five companies: Pearson ($2.8 billion), Harcourt General ($2.1 billion), Thomson ($1.9 billion), McGraw-Hill ($1.7 billion) and Scholastic ($1.2 billion). A five-year trend of double-digit growth continued in 1999 for the BIS category, VS&A said, spurred by increases of 25% or more in the technology and healthcare categories. Revenue leaders for the year were ADP ($5.5 billion), Reuters. ($5 billion), Thomson ($3.8 billion), Reed Elsevier ($3.1 billion) and Dun & Bradstreet ($2 billion).