The world’s biggest events organiser has predicted that exhibitions and conferences will return this summer as vaccinations counter coronavirus.
Informa, which is behind the Monaco Yacht Show, China Beauty Expo and the World of Concrete convention in Las Vegas, was hammered in 2020 after large gatherings stopped.
That is expected to have cut the FTSE 100 firm’s annual profits by 70 per cent, with its shares down a third since a year ago.
Informa, which is behind the Monaco Yacht Show (pictured), China Beauty Expo and the World of Concrete convention in Las Vegas, was hammered in 2020 after large gatherings stopped
Yesterday, Informa said: ‘It is likely to be a year of return for physical events.’
Last year it had to cancel or postpone hundreds of global events. In response, it focused on offering virtual events conducted over video conferencing services – an initiative that will be expanded this year.
It also slashed costs by £600million, laid off staff, shut offices and raised £1billion in an emergency share placement.
Yesterday, it predicted operating profit of just £250million to £270million for 2020, well below the £933million of 2019.
It expects revenues of £1.65billion to £1.68billion, down from £2.89billion in 2019.
This summer it expects 90 per cent of physical events outside China to run from June.
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