Hyve Group’s revenue climbs by over £100m as Covid rules loosen

Exhibition organizer Hyve Group saw annual turnover rise by just over £100 million, despite the lack of events in China.

The London-listed company posted revenues of £122.5m for the 12 months ending September, compared to just £21.8m last year when coronavirus restrictions meant few conferences could take place.

Hyve continued to suffer from severe international travel restrictions for much of the year, especially after the emergence of the Omicron variant last winter, which led to the postponement of some shows.

It was also unable to hold a single conference in China due to the country’s draconian zero-Covid policy, forcing tens of millions of people to stay home at certain times.

But the group said it still managed to run a full schedule of exhibitions outside the country, several of which performed better than before the pandemic.

Trade was further boosted by a 14.2 percent increase in like-for-like spend by customers with higher marketing budgets and higher sales of tech products.

This helped Hyve reduce its net debt by a further £8.9 million to £71 million, which was at the lower end of its target range.

The company also said it had completed a transformation program launched in 2017 that aims to reduce dependency on emerging markets, create a centralized operating model and host more high-value events.

Nearly all of its exhibitions now only take place in advanced economies after selling off a number of global operations in the past year, including those in Turkey, Indonesia and Russia.

Hyve left the latter area after the invasion of Ukraine, even though the country had previously provided about half of all revenues.

The sale of the subsidiary to Rise Expo, a company incorporated in the United Arab Emirates, will raise up to £72 million over a decade, although this will still be a significant loss.

The company was founded in 1991 as International Trade Exhibitions by the Shashoua family, who wanted to capitalize on the transition of the former Soviet Union to a market economy, with the first event being a motor show in Moscow.

Chief executive and co-founder Mark Shashoua commented, “Our portfolio of market-leading events is now risk-free, with nearly 95 percent focused on advanced economies with an emphasis on digital growth sectors.

‘The main change in our portfolio during the year was the sale of the Russian business following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I am pleased that we were able to find an outcome that meets our compliance with sanctions and moral obligations.”

In addition to the divestments, the group has acquired two major companies – 121 Group and Fintech Meetup – and launched new product expansions such as Shoptalk Europe and Ahead by Bett.

For the current fiscal year, Hyve noted that future bookings currently total £98m, up from £67m for the equivalent event portfolio in 2021, and expects a third consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth.

Shares of Hyve Group were up 1.85 percent to 71.4 pence as of late Tuesday morning, though their value has plummeted about 86 percent over the past three years.