Informa’s profit up 19% in first half year

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London, 24th July: Earlier this week, London-listed Informa PLC released its financial results for the six months ended 30th June 2024. Revenues in the first half were £1.7 billion (US$2.1 billion), representing an underlying increase of 11%. Adjusted operating profit was £467 million (US$590 million), representing growth of 19%.

Informa’s event business, Informa Markets, generated revenues of £838 million (US$1.1 billion) during the period, an increase of 13%. Informa Markets posted an adjusted operating profit of £275 million (US$345 million), up 25% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Informa also released recommended offer for Ascential plc. The company will acquire the entire share capital of Ascential at 568 pence per share, which is approximately £1.2 billion (US$1.5 billion), and a premium of about 53% to the closing price on 21st July 2024.

RELX’s exhibitions business up 16%

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London, 25th July: Last week, RELX Group plc, parent company of RX Global (formerly Reed Exhibitions), reported its financial results for the six months ended 30th June 2024. Group revenues were £4.6 billion (US$5.9 billion) in the first half of the year, representing growth of 7%. Its adjusted operating profit increased by 10%, reaching £1.6 billion (US$2.0 billion).

RELX’s exhibitions business generated revenues of £601 million (US$760 million), representing a year-on-year growth of 16%. Its adjusted operating profit was £223 million (US$282 million), representing a 33% increase over the previous year.

Global business travel spending expects record highs in 2024

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Worldwide, 24th July: According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the latest 2024 GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook – Annual Global Report and Forecast showed the global business travel industry has recovered from pandemic.

It is expected global business travel spending by the end of the year to be US$1.48 trillion, which is higher than the figure in 2019 of US$1.43 trillion. It is also projected the global business travel spending to exceed US$2 trillion by 2028.

GL events announces 19% growth in H1 2024 revenue

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Lyon, 18th July: Last week, GL events released its financial results for the six months ended 30th June 2024. It reported revenues of €821 million (US$878 million), representing year-on-year growth of 19%.

In terms of business sectors, GL events Live generated revenues of €497 million (US$531 million), up 35% year-on-year. GL events Venues, with revenues of €211 million (US$226 million), recorded year-on-year growth of 18%. However, GL events Exhibitions’ revenues dropped by 21% year-on-year, down to €113 million (US$121 million).

Quick takes

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UFI announces 2024 UFI HR Management Award

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, released its winner of the 2024 UFI HR Management Award to be IMPACT Exhibition Management. IMPACT will present its projects at the 91st UFI Global Congress, running from 20th to 23rd November 2024 in Cologne, Germany.

Accommodation revenue in Japan rebounds

It is expected a record revenue for the fiscal 2024 (April 2024 to March 2025) for the hotel and ryokan operators in Japan, due to the revenue in the fiscal 2023 rebounding to pre-pandemic levels, and the ongoing strong growth in inbound tourism. Accommodation revenue in fiscal 2023 was 4.9 trillion yen (US$31.3 billion), compared to 5 trillion yen in 2019.

Visitor arrivals in Macau up 44% in first half

According to Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), visitor arrivals to Macau increased by 44% year-on-year, reaching 16,719,983 in the first half of 2024, which is about 82% of the same period in 2019.

HKTDC launches Hong Kong Shopping Festival in August

Followed the 2023 Policy Address to assist Hong Kong’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will launch the inaugural Hong Kong Shopping Festival across mainland e-commerce platforms, from 1st to 31st August 2024.