Trading Update

RNS Number : 6960J

ITE Group PLC

04 April 2018

 

4 April 2018

ITE Group plc

("ITE" or the "Group")

Trading Update

ITE is today publishing a trading update ahead of its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2018, which will be announced on Tuesday 15 May 2018.

Trading update

The Group's performance in this period was in line with management expectations.

Revenue for the period will be circa £75m (six months to 31 March 2017: £70m). The increase is largely due to underlying trading improvements and the benefit of biennials and event timing, offset by the proactive cancellation of less profitable events and the impact of foreign exchange.

On a like-for-like basis revenues for the six months are 8% higher than the comparative period. Four Top 10 events ran in the period, collectively delivering double digit like-for-like revenue growth. This continues the double digit growth in Top 10 events in the previous financial year and reinforces our strategy of focusing on core market-leading events.

Financial position

The Group's balance sheet and operational cash flows remain strong. Net debt is circa £52m (31 March 2017: £55m) reflecting continuing strong operational cash conversion and planned TAG investment in the period.

TAG programme update

We announced the TAG programme nearly a year ago and we continue to progress according to plan. The TAG Programme comprises of three pillars of strategic activity to accelerate growth, namely creating a scalable platform, managing the portfolio and making product-led acquisitions.

We have recruited the best practice teams and started to implement the 'ITE way' to increase the scalability of our platform. We have also rolled out seven best practice initiatives following the launch of our 'Events Best Practice' blueprints.

The Group is managing its portfolio by implementing a more rigorous approach to the allocation of capital. During the period we discontinued 22 less profitable events as we continue to focus on our core events.

The Group will also look to make selective product-led acquisitions to accelerate growth in line with strict M&A criteria and we have a strong acquisitions pipeline.

Outlook

As at 29 March 2018, the Group had booked circa £137m of revenue for the 2018 financial year (31 March 2017: £128m) representing 85% of market expectations for the full year. On a like-for-like basis, these revenues are 14% ahead of this time last year and on a volume basis are 5% ahead reflecting the impact of earlier bookings and ITE's focus on core events following the launch of the early TAG initiatives.

With TAG well underway, ITE is making good progress towards realising its vision of creating the world's leading portfolio of content-driven, must-attend events that deliver an outstanding experience and ROI for our customers.

The Board is pleased with performance to date and is confident in full year expectations.

Notes to Editors

Like-for-like results are stated on a constant currency basis, after excluding events which took place in the current period but did not take place under our ownership in the comparative period and after excluding events which took place in the comparative period but did not take place under our ownership in the current period. This excludes:

-           Biennial events;

-           Timing differences (i.e. events that ran in only one of the current or comparative periods, due to changes in the event dates);

-           Launches;

-           Cancelled or disposed of events that did not take place under our ownership in the current year;

-           Acquired events in the current period; and

-           Acquired events in the comparative period that didn't take place under our ownership in the comparative period (i.e. they took place pre-acquisition).

For further information please contact:

ITE Group plc Melissa McVeigh, Director of Communications	[phone]
FTI Consulting Charles Palmer/Emma Hall	[phone]

About ITE Group plc

ITE Group plc was founded in 1991 and is now one of the world's leading organisers of international exhibitions and conferences.

ITE Group's strategic vision is to create the world's leading portfolio of content-driven, must-attend events delivering an outstanding experience and ROI for our customers. In May 2017 the Group launched its Transformation & Growth (TAG) programme, which is designed to transform the Company from a geographic-led business to a product-led business that focuses on market-leading events, wherever they are in the world. ITE strives to run the best shows and offer the best service to its customers throughout the world regardless of location. By putting exhibitors and visitors at the heart of everything we do, we plan to drive sustainable growth for our shareholders.

ITE Group is a public limited company and has been listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange since 1998.

 

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