Event organiser Easyfairs’ results for the financial year 2021-22 show a good recovery from the pandemic. The Group announced 2021-22 revenues grew to €163m. Recurring EBITDA hit €28.5m from minus €30m the previous year. The figures signal a return nearly to pre-Covid levels of profits and revenues.
Eric Everard, Group chairman and founder, said the financial performance was a credit to the dynamic people the Group has. “They showed incredible resilience. The team took the opportunity to increase their skills and knowledge, ready for the upturn, and we are seeing the results,” he said.
Easyfairs Group CEO Matt Benyon also struck an optimistic note: “The events industry as a whole is resurgent, because a large proportion of many companies’ annual turnover either happens directly at events or is initiated during events. SMEs in particular, which are major drivers of economic growth, rely on events to meet customers and prospects and build their sales pipelines. There’s no doubt, trade shows are playing an important role in the economic recovery.
“That said, Easyfairs is rather better placed to make a rapid recovery thanks to our unique formula. We saw something similar in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. Our formula is efficient, sales-driven and affordable. We have a strong local footprint in regional markets, strong business-to-business brands, and we offer a sustainable all-in formula with transparent pricing. This is very attractive both to SMEs and to large enterprises that are cautiously rebuilding after the cutbacks they were forced to make during the pandemic.”
Anne Lafère, who shares Group CEO responsibilities with Benyon, provided another perspective on the turnaround. “After months of meeting via video links there is a real appetite to meet face to face. We’ve done many digital pilots and we’ve seen that online events work exceedingly well for educational purposes. But nothing will ever replace the joy and the efficiency of meeting in person when it comes to doing business,” she said.
“Our digital events helped to keep our business communities in touch during the pandemic. We will continue taking digital initiatives to engage with communities all year round − this really enhances the appeal of our face-to-face events,” Lafère added.
Easyfairs has just finalised its complete baseline carbon footprint calculation in compliance with the Greenhouse Gas protocol for fiscal year 18-19, the last pre-Covid year. Based on this calculation, Easyfairs says it will do its utmost to align with the Paris agreement, which was signed in October 2021.
Over the past financial year (21-22) Easyfairs said it had launched 19 new events, mainly through the ‘geocloning’ of existing event concepts in new markets. A similar number of launches is planned for financial year 2022-23.
Easyfairs has also been making acquisitions, notably the KPA plastics trade show in Germany. In Sweden, the Easyfairs Group recently announced a 50% share of Malmö Mäss-Service, a provider of stand-building and related services, with which Easyfairs has a longstanding collaboration at its own venue, Malmömässan.
“This kind of acquisition allows us to offer an integrated business (embracing events, venue management and stand-building services), an increased operational efficiency, and a better service to customers while reducing our carbon footprint,” Everard said
