- Informa expects to achieve over £975m in adjusted operating profits this year
- The firm runs the Arab Health, Dubai Airshow, and Cityscape Global events
Taylor & Francis owner Informa has cut its annual profit forecast in response to adverse currency fluctuations.
The publisher and events organiser expects to achieve over £975million in adjusted operating profits this year, having previously targeted more than £1billion.
However, the London-based firm still anticipates its turnover exceeding £3.5billion thanks to a ‘consistent strong performance’ during the first ten months of 2024.
During the period, Informa reported a 10.7 per cent bump in underlying sales on the back of growth across all major regions, especially India, the Middle East and Africa.
Among the exhibitions the group runs in the latter territory are Arab Health, the Dubai Airshow, and Cityscape Global, a real estate conference which took place in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, last week.
Informa’s recent £1.2billion takeover of Ascential was partly motivated by the desire to expand its fintech business across the Middle East and Africa.
New outlook: Events organiser Informa expects to achieve over £975million in adjusted operating profits this year, having previously targeted more than £1billion
The company is targeting Saudi Arabia, where it operates the joint venture partnership Tahaluf and plans to run a Money 20/20 event next January.
The acquisition also helped Informa gain control of the Cannes Lions Festival, one of the world’s largest advertising and marketing industry gatherings.
Cannes Lions and Money20/20 will form part of Informa’s new live events division, Informa Festivals, which is launching in early 2025.
Informa noted forward bookings for its live B2B shows portfolio and renewals in its subscription businesses for next year were ‘on track’.
The firm also revealed that ‘major event’ revenues in its Informa Markets segment, which organises the Monaco Yacht Show and World of Concrete, were up 5 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter.
Stephen A. Carter, chief executive of Informa, said the group ‘continues to deliver a strong performance in 2024, with forward bookings providing momentum into 2025’.
The exhibitions industry has recovered steadily over the past two years after the Covid-19 pandemic led to the widespread postponement and cancellation of expos.
Informa shares were 2.1 per cent down at 837.6p on late Tuesday afternoon, making them one of the FTSE 100 Index’s top fallers.
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