Informa exhibits a solid half year as profits rise

Business media group Informa said pre-tax profits rose to £148.8m from £98.9m as first-half revenue increased 41.3% on strong trading in its global exhibitions division.

Revenue rose £915.4m. The interim dividend was increased 6.2% to 6.65p.

Global exhibitions made up 37.4% Informa's total revenue and rose 77.7% to £342.8m. Revenue from academic publishing was up 11.3% to £238.9m.

In a separate announcement Informa also said it had sold its German domestic conference business Euroforum to German media group Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt for £15m.

“Informa's strategy of pursuing greater international scale, building Balance and Breadth across geographies and verticals, and increasing the proportion of forward-booked, recurring and predictable revenue provides resilience and strength,” the company said.

“This allows us to continue making steady operational and financial progress despite ongoing macro and geo-political uncertainty in the US and Europe.”