International events organiser and venue owner GL events’ Board of Directors, meeting on 20 July 2023, approved interim financial statements for the six-month period ending 30 June 2023. It was a period that saw a doubling of revenues in the group's Exhibitions division
Chairman-CEO of GL events Group, Olivier Ginon (pictured), said: “GL events’ strong momentum remains on track with revenue up 32% in the first half, driven by its strategy of combining the strengths of its three business divisions to provide an integrated offering: Live, Venues and Exhibitions. In June GL events was selected to provide overlay services for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games venues in the heart of Paris, from the Champ de Mars to the Place de la Concorde, and throughout France in the stadiums of Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Saint-Etienne.
“Meanwhile, as we expected, all our markets are returning to growth, in particular China, which enjoyed a very robust second quarter, and the Americas, with particularly good performances in Brazil and Chile.
“Our commercial efficiencies in all our markets provided the basis for good operating results, with EBITDA up 56% and operating profit up 94%, creating additional value for our shareholders.
“This good first-half performance has allowed us to raise our target for growth in sales from 5% to 8% in 2023. In response, our operating margin will also continue to improve. We are accelerating the pace of our investments in the future while maintaining our objectives to reduce gross debt.
“Looking to the future, GL events continues to invent sustainable worlds for the event industry, reflecting the ambitious ESG policy underpinning its strategy and commitments. During the period, the Group was granted a building permit, enabling it to begin installing a 13-hectare photovoltaic shading structure on the Eurexpo site in Lyon.”
The CEO added that all regions where the Group operates had displayed good momentum in the first half. For the six-month period ended 30 June 2023, GL events’ revenue grew to €690.2m, driven in particular by the strong rebound in Exhibitions and the business upturn in China beginning in the second quarter.
In H1 2023, the Group’s EBITDA margin rose to 14.4% helped by strong growth in profitability by the Venues and Exhibitions divisions.
After taking into account other operating income and expenses and a tax charge of €14m, net profit attributable to the Group amounted to €32m, up 88% from H1 2022.
GL events Live registered strong growth in H1 2023. This performance reflected the contributions of major contracts in a wide range of sectors, but also global events, especially in sports, with the Roland Garros French Tennis Open and the Monte Carlo Rolex Tennis Masters tournament, motor racing with the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans Auto, and equestrian sports. The first half also benefited from the return of major international events such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Paris Air Show, at also corporate events, like the Dassault Systèmes Business Convention and the Christian Dior Homme & Haute Couture fashion shows. GL events Live’s revenue rose 22% to €367.3m.
GL events Live is expecting its margins to improve in H2 2023 after adopting a plan for implementing higher sales prices and optimising fixed costs.
GL events Exhibitions delivered nearly a doubling of revenues to €143.6m, up 97%. The division has benefited from a favourable biennial effect (SIRHA, Expomin) and strong momentum by B2B exhibitions like Hyvolution, Be Positive, CFIA and Global Industrie in France. It also benefited from the rebound in activity in China in Q2, in particular with the 19th China Association of Clinical Laboratory Practice Expo (CACLP) and ISH
By acquiring a 51% stake in Première Vision in H1, GL events Exhibitions became the sole shareholder in the world’s leading exhibition for the upstream fashion industry.
GL events Venues continued to perform well with revenue of €179.2m, up 19% in the same period in 2022. Profitability has also improved for the Venues division which benefits from contributions of major destinations (Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Lyon and Budapest).
However, GL events’ net debt rose in the period by €68m to €560m. At June 30, 2023, GL events had a cash position of €577m (€637m including undrawn credit lines). After adjusting for acquisitions during the period, the Group’s net debt (€484m) remained largely stable in relation to December 31, 2022 (€492m).
At the same time, GL events said it had successfully refinanced and extended the maturity of its debt which was thus increased to 3.7 years.
After a better-than-expected performance in H1 2023 the Group said it had raised its guidance for 2023 as follows:
- Growth in full-year revenue of approximately 8% compared to 5% initially announced;
- An improvement in the Group’s margin
In response to this improved visibility, GL events is accelerating its investments for the future with, in addition to the targeted acquisitions of €62m in H1 2023, a revised Capex programme of €100m for 2023, including €40m for the renovation of the Anhembi site in São Paulo, Brazil.
The Group is also continuing to roll out its ESG policy in line with the plan of January 2023.
