Events planner Informa enhances full-year outlook once more

Show organizer Informa has once again upgraded its annual guidance as the continued recovery in in-person events fueled a robust 2022 end.

The FTSE 100 company expects to report annual revenue of more than £2.38 billion, alongside an adjusted operating profit of more than £530 million and free cash flow of more than £440 million when it publishes its full-year results in March.

Two months ago, the group raised its annual operating profit outlook to between £490m and £505m, while boosting sales by a further £100m to a range of £2.3bn to £2.35bn.

Since then, it has seen continued improvement in its Taylor & Francis academic markets division, thanks to strong demand for traditional pay-to-read publishing and open research.

It predicts the division delivered underlying revenue growth of around 3 percent last year, up from 2.4 percent in 2021.

Growth also held up in the business-to-business events division, which was impacted last year by the reintroduction of Covid-19 restrictions following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Informa now expects its B2B portfolio to deliver about 70 percent of underlying revenue growth for its live exhibition business, thanks in part to a particularly strong performance in the US.

Trade shows organized by the group include Middle East Film and Comic Con, one of the largest pop culture festivals in the region, the Monaco Yacht Show and the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

All of these events were canceled in 2020 or 2021 due to strict cross-border travel regulations before returning last year, but Informa’s series of exhibits in China continued to be hit hard by draconian lockdown policies.

The London-based company said it would see “incremental growth” of the country once a full schedule returns, which it said is likely to happen by the end of 2023 and next year.

“We continue to monitor the macro and geopolitical backdrop, and while uncertainties prevail, Informa operates with specialty brands that serve specialty markets and provide resilience and growth opportunities in the vast majority of our chosen categories,” it noted.

Information stocks were up 0.3 percent on Thursday afternoon to 662.2 pence, meaning their value was up about 16 percent over the past 12 months, though they remain well below their pre-pandemic levels.

David Amira, a research analyst at broker Bank of America Securities, has raised the price target for the company by 40p to 850p as he noted the “bullish” update and “reassuring momentum” in the new financial year.

Meanwhile, Centaur Media management declared a special dividend for investors worth around £4 million after the Marketing Week owner reported massive growth in revenue and profits.

For fiscal year 2022, the business information publisher expects revenue of at least £41 million and an adjusted underlying profit margin of more than 19.5 per cent.