The Board of major trade fair organiser Italian Exhibition Group S.p.A. (IEG) has approved financial statements as at 31 December 2023 for the group which show record revenues at €212.4m, +32.4% compared to the previous year. The Net Financial Position at €71.9m, an improvement of €23.4m. And it seems the improvement is continuing, with Q4 revenues up €6.9m to €62.7m.
The group closed the year with a profit of €13.3m, up €14.2m compared to the previous year, when it made a loss of €0.8m.
IEG Group CEO Corrado Peraboni (pictured) commented: “The results of 2023 demonstrate the great ability of the IEG Group to recover revenues and margins with greater responsiveness compared to industry expectations and in a long-standing adverse external context that still presents elements of uncertainty linked to the geopolitical instability of this period. At the core of this great achievement are the solid strategic guidelines conceived during the pandemic period and reaffirmed in the new Strategic Plan 2023-2028, our nature as a trade show organiser that confirms us as leaders in terms of the number of owned events, and our ability not only to support our industries but also to be a leading actor and pioneer of innovation and change. The excellent performance of the just-ended fiscal year has catalysed the drafting of a new strategic plan, an ambitious document that places us in a benchmark position in the national trade show landscape.”
Revenues from Organised Events, which represented 58% of the Group’s revenues in 2023, were €122.1m, with an increase of €35.4m compared to the previous year. The year 2023 saw the scheduling, as before the pandemic, of three of the main events organised by the Group, such as Sigep, VicenzaOro January and T.Gold, and of the first edition of K.EY, arising from the spin-off of the energy sector from Ecomondo. The main driver of the incremental change in turnover was the organic component which was €21.8m (+25.1%), while the so-called ‘Restart’ effect of the events was €10.4m, marking an increase of 12.0% compared to the previous period.
The Hosted Events recorded total revenues of €4.5m, with an organic increase compared to 2022 of €1.4m.
Revenues from conferences were originated by the operation of Rimini Convention Centre and Vicenza Convention Centre (VICC). In 2023 a total of 126 conferences were held in the two locations, with revenues of €19.2m, and an incremental growth of €4.5m compared to 2022 thanks to an increase in the physical presence of participants, which was restricted in 2022.
Revenue in 2023 attributable to the Related Services segment amounted to €62.7m and Publishing, Sports Events and Other Activities contributed total revenues €3.9m, substantially in line with the result achieved as of 31 December 2022.
Operating costs as of 31 December 2023 amounted to €121.6m (€106.5m as of 31 December 2022), with the percentage of turnover decreasing from 66.4% to 57.3%.
