Hyve shares surge 15% as group sees revenues jump sharply

Hyve Group shares rose by over 15 per cent today after the events company revealed it enjoyed a faster than expected recovery during the past year. 

The London-listed company said the speed of its recovery had ‘surpassed expectations’ and, combined with strong like-for-like customer spend, demonstrated that demand for ‘high-quality market-leading events’ was continuing to grow. 

The group expects its revenue in the year to 30 September to come in at around £122million, excluding operations in Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, up from £22million a year ago. 

On the up: Hyve Group  saw its share price rise by over 15% today 

Hyve said it ran a full schedule of events during the reporting period, but confirmed there remained considerable disruption to event schedules in China. 

The number of events operated represented more than an 85 per cent recovery on a pro-forma basis when compared to the pre-pandemic financial year to September 2019. Excluding China, this figure rises above 90 per cent.

Demand for events is continuing to rise despite the macro-environment, Hyve said, highlighting its increased emphasis on its ‘omnichannel’ strategy since the pandemic, with 14 tech-enabled programmes run during the year, compared with four in the previous year.

Hyve shares jumped over 15 per cent today and are currently up 13.70 per cent or 6.85p to 56.85p, having fallen by nearly 50 per cent in the past year. 

Positive trading momentum was also said to have continued as the group started its current fiscal year, with forward bookings of around £68million giving it confidence in the year ahead. 

Looking ahead, the group said: ‘Uncertainty around running events in China remains, but the Group notes relaxation of the Covid-19 related rules on a region-by-region basis and currently plans to run a full schedule of events in China in FY23. China represents less than 10 per cent of Group revenues.’

Hyve also confirmed it had entered into an agreement to sell its Turkish business, Hyve Fuarcılık Anonim Şirketi, and its subsidiaries for up to £8million to ICA Limited. 

The company will receive £2million upon completion, minus customary working capital adjustments, and between £4milliion and £6million of deferred consideration, payable over the six-year period ending December 2028.

Mark Shashoua, the boss of Hyve, said: ‘It is clear that our business has now almost fully recovered from the turbulence of the last two years, and in many cases, we are pleased to have delivered significant growth compared to pre-Covid performance.

‘The continued growth of customer like-for-like spend reinforces our strategy of focusing on only market leading events as customers are clearly directing marketing budgets towards key events in their sectors.’

He added: ‘Looking ahead, we must of course remain vigilant/mindful of macroeconomic challenges, however we are optimistic about the next 12 months and this optimism is underpinned by strong forward bookings and an increase in like-for-like customer spend. 

‘We enter FY23 with a de-risked and concentrated portfolio of market leading events, clear opportunities for continued growth – both through analogue and digital – and our ever-present commitment and energy to make those a reality.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk