UK's TMN Group underlying pretax profit up 10 pct

Sept 5 (Reuters) - British digital marketing company TMN Group Plc (TMN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) posted on Friday a 10 percent rise in underlying full-year pretax profit on higher revenue and said it has started the current financial year well.

For the year to end-April, 2008, the company said its pretax profit before share-based payments, amortisation of intangible assets and exceptional costs, rose to 3.6 million pounds from 3.3 million last year.

Revenue grew 40 percent to 22.5 million pounds. Excluding the impact of two acquisitions made in the year, revenue increased by 10 percent, the company said.

The company, which ended offer talks with August Equity in July after the fund adviser was unable to secure sufficient third-party debt financing to support an acceptable offer, said its net debt was 0.3 million pounds at the year end, compared with net cash of 1.6 million at April 30, 2007.

The online marketing and research provider had in May received an indicative cash offer of 70 pence per share from August Equity, working together with TMN's CEO Mark Smith and CFO Craig Dixon.

August Equity is now the second bidder to drop a possible offer for TMN, after direct marketing company Tangent Communications Plc (TATNG.L: Quote, Profile, Research) in April decided not to proceed with its indicative offer of around 50 pence a share, which TMN said significantly undervalued the company. (Reporting by Tresa Sherin Morera in Bangalore, editing by Will Waterman)