International exhibition organiser, ITE Group has reported that the firm remains in a strong financial position, with its fourth quarter performance in line with management expectations.
Revenues for the full year are expected to be around £136m, compared to £174m in 2014, which, on a like-for like basis represents a decrease of 14 per cent.
In ITE’s update for the year ended 30 September 2015, prior to entering its close period and ahead of its preliminary results announcement on 1 December 2015, management expectations for the full year remain unchanged.
The group reported that revenues in the three-month period to 30 September 2015 were circa £23m, down by one per cent on a like-for-like basis. According to ITE, this reflects the on-going relative weakness of the Ruble against their reporting currency and the challenging trading conditions in Russia.
Highlights in this quarter include World Food Moscow, the group’s leading food exhibition, which performed “very well in extremely difficult trading conditions” recording a 12 per cent decrease in space sales to 22,600sqm. However, visitor numbers continued to be strong and improved by a further one per cent on the previous edition.
The group had booked circa £48m of revenue for the 2016 financial year (as at 25 September 2015), representing circa 34 per cent of current market expectations, which is nine per cent below the previous year on a like-for-like basis.
“Trading conditions in Russia and more recently the central Asian states, continue to be challenging. While the group has seen some stability in Russian trading conditions, the impact of lower oil prices and domestic currency weakness is being reflected in our forward bookings,” ITE said in its statement.
ITE also said that the firm remains in a strong financial position with net debt of circa £55m (as at 24 September 2015) compared to £15m in 2014, after spending £56m on acquisitions, “and continues to operate comfortably within its £100m facility”.
