WORLD - UBM has highlighted a 21.7 per cent year-on-year rise in events revenue in its interim results for the nine months to 30 September.
The events, publishing and data services company reported revenue of £338.9m across its events division for the nine-month period, up from £278.5m last year. This represented underlying growth of 12.7 per cent.
Adjusted operating profit was also up 22.9 per cent, from £85.5m to £105.1m, while operating margins inched up slightly from 30.7 per cent to 31 per cent. Of the top 20 shows held during the quarter, double-digit growth was recorded across Furniture China (pictured), Black Hat USA, Concrete Brazil and Children-Baby-Maternity Expo in China.
The results were more moderate on its Hong Kong Jewellery Show in September due to venue constraints, which will continue in 2013, UBM said.
In addition, the company reported forward bookings for the top 20 events held in 2011 are up 14.7 per cent compared to last year. UBM expects to see full-year underlying growth of 12-14 per cent and margins of 31-32 per cent, reflecting both a lower biennial impact and higher investment in the last quarter of the calendar year.
“Event growth continues as expected with good growth in our large Q3 events, particularly in China, and we continue to invest to strengthen our global events business,” UBM chief executive David Levin commented.
At the same time as releasing its interim results, UBM announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Turkish organiser EFEM, which will see it launch a joint venture in the region to grow its baby show portfolio. The organiser is plotting several geo-adaptations in Turkey’s capital including Food Ingredients Istanbul, plus Black Hat and IFSEC for the IT security market.
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