2024 Full Year Results

Informa PLC 2024 Preliminary Full-Year Results

6 March 2025

Informa (LSE: INF.L), the international Live B2B Events, B2B Digital Services and Academic Markets Group today published full year results for 2024, reporting double digit revenue and profit growth, the resumption of share buybacks and guidance for further strong growth in 2025.

Further Strong Performance in 2024

· Strong Financial Performance:1 Revenue £3,553.1m (2023: £3,189.6m), Adjusted Operating Profit1 £995.0m (2023: £853.8m) and Free Cash Flow1 £812.1m (2023: £631.7m);

· Double-Digit Underlying Growth:1 Underlying revenue growth of 11.6% and underlying adjusted operating profit growth of 22.9%, including double-digit underlying revenue growth in both B2B Markets and Academic Markets;

· Improving Margins:1 Underlying revenue growth and strong profit conversion delivers further increase in adjusted operating margin to 28.0% (2023: 26.8%);

· Growing Earnings per Share:1 Adjusted diluted earnings per share +10.6% to 50.1p (2023: 45.3p), reflecting strong operating performance;

· Improving Statutory Performance: 2024 statutory operating profit +6.9% to £542.8m (2023: £507.8m), reflecting strong underlying growth and further inorganic expansion, with statutory diluted EPS lower at 22.2p (2023: 29.9p), due to lower fair value gains on contingent consideration, one-off finance fees and non-cash loss on disposal.

Maximising Informa's B2B Growth Platform: 2025-2028 One Informa

· Structural Growth: Live B2B Events are underpinned by a number of positive structural growth trends, including the rising value of face-to-face connections in a digital world, the power of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) in developing industries and driving economic growth, and the AI Time Dividend, as technology creates more time for innovation and impact;

· Growth Geographies: We are building our B2B platform around faster-growing geographies, shifting the focus from the UK/Europe (c.10% revenue) to the Americas/GCC/Asia/China (c.85%);

· Growth Markets: We are targeting B2B end markets with intrinsic growth characteristics, including fragmented supply chains, high levels of innovation and high margin products, creating leading market positions e.g. Technology, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Nutrition, Aviation and FinTech;

· Specialist B2B Brands: Our B2B platform is underpinned by 800+ specialist B2B Brands that are synonymous with the end market they serve, delivering must-attend events and experiences that drive growth, discovery and impact;

· B2B Growth Platform: The combination of structural growth, growth geographies, growth markets and market-leading Brands is now delivering consistent 5%+ underlying revenue growth;

1In this report, we refer to non-statutory measures, as defined in the Financial Review on page 10 and Glossary on page 42.

· 2025-2028 One Informa: A four-year, self-funded programme to further maximise our B2B platform through Brand extension and International partnerships, with particular focus on Market-Leading Customer Experience, Data-led Marketing (IIRIS), Specialist Brands and the further deployment of digital service technologies and AI tools, including Informa's AI personal assistant, Elysia;

Strong Momentum into 2025

· Consistent Strong Underlying Growth: In 2025, Informa's growth platform will deliver 5%+ Group underlying revenue growth before any reinvestment in inorganic additions;

· Double-Digit Earnings Growth: Our target for the expanded Informa portfolio is reported revenues of £4.1bn+ in 2025 (excluding Curinos (now divested) and with a USD/GBP exchange rate of $1.25), and double-digit growth in adjusted diluted earnings per share;

· Q1 Performance and Forward Visibility: 2025 has started strongly, with c.£1.7bn of revenues (40%+ of target revenues) already paid, booked or committed through subscriptions, recurring exhibitor revenues and forward booked contracts.

Further Scale in the GCC Growth Gateway through new Partnership

· Expansion through creation of Informa International: Proposed strategic partnership with Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) to combine Informa's B2B Events business in the UAE and connected partner markets with Dubai-based DWTC's B2B Events business; Creates further scale and opportunity in one of the fastest-growth markets for B2B Events, where significant new venue capacity is coming on stream in 2026;

· This new joint venture, Informa International, will have revenues of $700m+, with 30%+ operating margins, bringing together a portfolio of market-leading Brands in highly attractive growth categories, including Healthcare (WHX), Energy (Middle East Energy), Aviation (Dubai Air Show), Food (Gulfood), ICT (GITEX) and Information Security (GISEC);

· This combination of commercial equals requires no cash consideration and is expected to complete in Q4 2025. Informa's shareholding (52%) will lead to full consolidation of revenues and operating profit, with accretion to adjusted earnings per share expected from 2026.

Balance Sheet Strength and Consistent Shareholder Returns

· Strong Free Cash Flow growth: Operating strength and continuing discipline in cash management delivered operating cashflow conversion over 100% and free cash flow growth of 28.6% in 20241;

· Portfolio focus: Successful divestment of Lloyds' List and Curinos equity investments for combined value of over £200m, (>20X EV/EBITDA), further simplifying our portfolio;

· Balance Sheet Strength: Strong underlying cash flows combined with non-core divestments enabled significant organic and inorganic growth investment in 2024, with year-end leverage of 2.6x net debt to adjusted EBITDA, with further deleveraging to come in 2025;

· Consistent Shareholder Returns: Ordinary dividends of 20.0p per share for 2024, +11.1% year-on-year, combined with £425m+ of share buybacks, delivered £675m+ in-year cash returns;

· Recommencing Share Buybacks: The Share Buyback Programme restarts, reflecting forward visibility and growth, and in line with our Capital Allocation Policy; Initial minimum £200m+ in 2025;

· Sustainability...FasterForward: Delivery of FasterForward sustainability strategy, including the Sustainable Events Fundamentals Programme, recognised through inclusion in Dow Jones Sustainability Index for seventh consecutive year, AAA ESG Rating from MSCI and A- CDP Score.

1In this report, we refer to non-statutory measures, as defined in the Financial Review on page 10 and Glossary on page 42.

2024 Financial Summary

2024 Divisional Highlights

3In this document, we refer to Statutory (Reported) and Underlying results. Underlying figures are adjusted for acquisitions and disposals, the phasing of events including biennials, the impact of changes from new accounting standards and policy changes, and the effects of currency. It includes, on a pro-forma basis, results from acquisitions from the first day of ownership in the comparative period and excludes results from sold businesses from the date of disposal in the comparative period. Statutory figures exclude such adjustments. Alternative performance measures are detailed in the Glossary.

4In this document we refer to Statutory (Reported) and Adjusted results, as well as other non-statutory financial measures. Adjusted results are prepared to provide an alternative measure to explain the Group's performance. Adjusted results exclude adjusting items as set out in Note 6 to the Financial Statements. Operating Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow, Net Debt and other non-statutory measures are discussed in the Financial Review and the Glossary.

The Informa Group

The Informa Group enters 2025 as The International Leader in B2B Markets and a Leading International Humanities and Social Science Academic Publisher.

The Informa B2B Growth Platform

The Informa Group is consistently delivering 5%+ underlying revenue growth, underpinned by a market-leading B2B platform, world class B2B Brands and a decade of focus on the geographic growth markets of the world.

B2B Structural Growth

Since 2013, Informa has built its B2B platform around a number of core B2B structural growth drivers:

1. MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) as an economic strategy...Fast growth economies using MICE to develop industries, accelerate growth and attract foreign investment and business tourism;

2. B2B Specialisation...B2B industries becoming increasingly segmented and specialist, creating new market categories and driving demand for specialist B2B Events, Content and Networking;

3. Supply Chain Refresh/Review...Increasingly complex and dynamic supply chains increase the need to source new suppliers, new distributors, new buyers and new components, a demand-side accelerant for large scale B2B trade shows;

4. Rising value of face-to-face...Increasing value being placed on high quality B2B face-to-face interactions in an increasingly digital B2B world;

5. Business Travel consolidates...The power and reach of market leading B2B Event Brands deliver material business travel and time efficiencies, providing access to multiple customers / suppliers / colleagues in a single location;

6. AI Time Dividend... The AI Time Dividend increases professional time for innovation, creation and business development, rather than process, administration and simple summary.

Growth Markets and Growth Geographies

Our B2B platform is built around growth markets in growth geographies:

· Growth markets: Targeting B2B markets with intrinsic growth characteristics of their own, including fragmented supply chains, international communities, high levels of change and innovation in product/service capabilities, and high margin products. This has created leading market positions in Technology, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Nutrition, Food, Aviation, FinTech, Construction, Luxury, Beauty and Marketing.

· Growth geographies: Shifting the geographic focus of the Informa Group from UK/Europe to Americas/GCC/Asia/China, becoming more international and strengthening our position in fast-growth economies. In 2025, Informa will generate c.45% of revenues from North America, c.40% from IMEA/GCC/Asia/China (including Informa International) and c.10% from Continental Europe, the majority from a small number of major international B2B Events brands (Cannes Lions, SuperReturn, CPHI). The UK will account for less than 5%, primarily Academic Markets.

The scale and reach of Informa's B2B platform and our leading positions in growth markets and growth geographies, creates multiple opportunities to develop our products and services and drive accelerated growth:

1. Price for value...The ability to drive yields through product/service mix, pricing and customer value/ROI

2. Increased Market Penetration...Growth through network effects (the big get bigger), new customer segments and international partnerships;

3. Increased Capacity / Supply...Ability to launch into new venue capacity, with an additional c.2m sqm coming online in the Top 20 B2B locations over the next five years, weighted to fast growth economies;

4. Geo Expansion...Proven playbook for Brand extension, Brand expansion, Brand syndication and Global Cities approach, particularly in fast-growing economies;

5. Increasing Attendee Value...Development of audience services to generate more value for and from attendees through ticketing, hosted buying, curated content and product/customer specifications;

6. Amplification Services...Value added services in and around B2B Events, including matchmaking, content marketing, product promotion, accreditation, sponsorship and lead generation.

2025 Growth Outlook

In 2025, Group underlying revenue growth is expected to be more than 5% before any contribution from inorganic additions.

The Group will also have a full year of Informa Festivals and Informa TechTarget in 2025, whilst Lloyds' List and Curinos were divested in December 2024. In 2024, Taylor & Francis also generated significant revenues from non-recurring data access contracts.

The overall target is for double-digit growth in Group Revenue and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, including reported revenues of £4.1bn+ (excluding Curinos (now divested) and with a USD/GBP 1.25).

Live B2B Events (Informa Markets, Informa Connect, Informa Festivals)

Informa is the largest owner operator of B2B Brands globally, including 800+ specialist Brands serving 30+ growth markets and all major geographic regions, with a mix weighted to the fast-growing economies of the Americas, GCC, Asia and China .

This B2B platform is delivering consistent strong revenue growth through a combination of volume growth, value growth, improving yields, additional services and new brand launches. In 2025, this will include the launch of Money 20/20 Middle East in Riyadh, the first brand extension from the Informa Festivals portfolio.

The target for 2025 is 7%+ underlying revenue growth for the B2B Events Division.

B2B Digital Services (Informa TechTarget)

The Informa TechTarget combination completed in December 2024, with Informa the 57% owner, and under US listing obligations will file 2024 Full Year Results on 31 March 2025. Informa TechTarget has already indicated an expected range for pro-forma 2024 Group revenues of $490m to $500m.

In 2025, Informa TechTarget is focused on combination, bringing the portfolio together and developing an expanded product/service offering for customers. The market backdrop for enterprise technology marketing expenditure remains stable but subdued. Informa TechTarget is targeting low to mid-single digit revenue growth in 2025 and improving margins from combination synergies, which are on plan.

Academic Markets (Taylor & Francis)

Taylor & Francis had a strong year in 2024, with underlying revenues on plan at c.3.5% (excluding non-recurring data access contracts) and an exceptional performance in licencing, archives and data access, in particular with AI companies, taking total revenue growth to 12.8%. As previously disclosed, this included $75m+ of data access revenue which is non-recurring.

In 2025, the year has started well, with subscription renewals ahead on both retention and cash collection compared to 2024. Open research volumes also continue to grow, with the focus on increasing submissions, improving acceptance rates and shortening the lead time from submission to publication.

In Advanced Learning, we are also increasing frontlist volumes to close to 9,000 titles, which will further expand the back list of c.200,000 specialist titles.

Given the size, scale and depth of specialist content assets within the Taylor & Francis portfolio, we are targeting further licencing and archive revenues as part of an ongoing, repeatable income stream with a range of customers, including institutions, national libraries and AI companies.

The target in 2025 is 4% underlying revenue growth (rebasing 2024 performance for non-recurring data access contracts).

One Informa 2025-2028

Over the next four years, the One Informa programme is designed to maximise the growth and value generated through Informa's B2B platform.

We will further extend Brands into growth regions, develop new partnerships in growth categories and continue to collect and use our proprietary first party data (IIRIS) and digital capabilities to develop new services and additional value.

One Informa will be self-funded, with incremental investment in key initiatives financed through existing free cash flow and efficiencies generated through operating simplification, technology unification and leveraging the full power of AI.

The initial focus will be on further developing our market-leading capabilities in a number of key areas to improve the way we operate, reduce customer friction, deliver operating efficiencies and increase the impact we have on our markets and for our audiences and customers:

· Market-Leading Customer Experience: Using first party data and digital technology to reduce friction and personalise our products and services for customers and audiences, increasing market impact and driving ever greater alignment between the buyside and sellside of the Industries we serve;

· Data-led Marketing (IIRIS): Aligning our marketing capabilities more closely with our proprietary first party data (IIRIS) to deepen the connection with our customers and audiences, delivering more direct, more personalised and more impactful marketing;

· Brands and Brand Value: Aligning all our businesses, products and services more closely around the Informa brand, increasing visibility and building longer-term Brand equity;

· AI Time Dividend: Applying this benefit to our own business by expanding the AI tools available to Colleagues and Customers to enhance productivity, deepen connections and create more time to focus on innovation and new growth opportunities by reducing process and administration. This includes the full deployment of Elysia across the company, our AI personal assistant for Colleagues, providing efficient and secure search/retrieval, summaries, analysis, translation etc.

Further Scale in the GCC

A cornerstone of Informa's growth in B2B Events over the last 10 years has been International expansion in the fast-growing economies of the Americas, GCC, Asia and China. The GCC and wider IMEA region has been at the heart of this activity, with revenues in the region more than tripling to c.$500m+ over the period through a combination of organic growth, investment and brand extension, portfolio additions and regional partnerships.

The GCC has a number of key attractions for B2B Events:

· GCC Growth Gateway: The GCC region offers high levels of economic growth and trade activity, with a diminishing dependence on energy as growth in non-oil industries develops rapidly. GDP across the GCC region is forecast to grow c.5%+ in 2025;

· Global trade hub: The GCC is a critical connector between the East and West, strengthening its position as a global trade hub, with regional trade volumes forecast to reach $2.3 trillion by 2033;

· MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) as an economic strategy: As GCC economies seek to diversify away from energy into other industries, MICE are key strategic platforms for accelerating growth and attracting investment. This is reflected in significant investment in high quality venues, hotels, airlines, airports and infrastructure, as well as strong government support.

In the UAE alone, there is currently c.320,000 square metres of B2B event capacity and more than 210,000 hotel rooms, as well as being home to two world-leading airlines and international airports. Furthermore, from 2026, the Dubai Exhibition Centre, the host venue of the 2020 World Expo, will be more than tripling its capacity to a total of 180,000 square metres exhibition space, providing significant new growth opportunities.

In 2024, the GCC was the fastest growing region at Informa, increasing more than 30% year-on-year, underpinned by two growth platforms.

Informa International: Proposed partnership with DWTC's B2B Events business

For more than 25 years, Informa has operated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), building a leading B2B Events business based out of Dubai. Today we are confirming the proposed strategic partnership between this business and Dubai-based Dubai World Trade Centre's (DWTC) B2B Events business, creating further scale in the increasingly important GCC Growth Gateway.

The partnership will include respective Exhibitions, Confexes, Conferences, Professional Training and Accreditation businesses in the UAE and key partner markets, creating a market leader delivering double digit growth with revenues of $700m+ and adjusted operating margins over 30%.

The combined business, Informa International, will on completion be consolidated for reporting purposes as part of the Informa Group.

DWTC has been a leader in B2B Events in the UAE for more than three decades. Separately, it also owns the two major venues in Dubai, the Dubai World Trade Centre and the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC), landmark locations that support city-wide events and activations. The first phase of DEC's expansion will add a further 80,000 square metres of permanent new capacity as early of 2026, reflecting the continuing and growing demand for high quality B2B Events in the region.

Informa International: High growth, high margin

The combined business will own and operate more than 40 major B2B Brands serving a range of attractive industry growth categories, including Healthcare (WHX), Energy (Middle East Energy), Aviation (Dubai Air Show), Food (Gulfood), ICT (GITEX) and Information Security (GISEC).

The B2B Events category in these markets is forecast to grow strongly over the next three years, underpinned by strong regional dynamics for economic growth and trade, positive structural trends supporting B2B Events and a number of specific, regional growth drivers, including substantial new venue capacity and a number of significant brand extension opportunities.

Informa International is also expected to benefit from Informa's expertise in first party data and ability to drive yields through additional services for exhibitors and attendees.

Timeline to completion

Target completion for the creation of Informa International is Q4 2025, with the business fully operational for the 2026 trading year, subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.

The joint venture partnership of commercial equals requires no cash consideration, with relative valuations of the two businesses based on forward growth projections. Informa's shareholding (52%) will lead to full consolidation of revenues and adjusted operating profit, with the partnership expected to be accretive to Informa's adjusted earnings per share from 2026.

Tahaluf: A national partnership for growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

In 2022, we established a partnership in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with two partner shareholders (SAFCSP, EIF), with the purpose of bringing or creating world class B2B Events and other B2B services to the Kingdom and contribute to Riyadh's rise as a global gateway city, in effect to create a national champion.

Over the last three years, Tahaluf has launched more than 12 brands in the KSA market through a mix of Brand creations, Brand extensions and Brand syndications, including in Future Tech (LEAP), Pharma (CPHI Middle East), Healthcare (Global Health Exhibition), Cyber Security (Black Hat Middle East), Real Estate (Cityscape Global) and FinTech (Money 20/20 Middle East).

The business has grown significantly and Tahaluf has ambitious plans to expand the portfolio further over the coming years.

Balance Sheet Strength and Consistent Shareholder Returns

Strong underlying growth in 2024 and a continuing focus on cash management and cash generation, delivered a very strong cash performance in the year, with over 100% operating cash conversion and free cash flow of £812m, our highest ever level and 28.6% increase year-on-year.

Portfolio divestments and reinvestment in growth

At the half year, we announced a review of our portfolio of non-core equity investments and in December, this led to the sale of our remaining 20% stake in the maritime intelligence business, Lloyds' List and our majority holding in retail banking intelligence business, Curinos. These divestments collectively generated over £200m of value, at an aggregate valuation of over 20x EV/EBITDA.

Combined with the strong operating cash performance of the business, these divestments enabled the Group to invest organically (£100m of capital expenditure) and inorganically (including Ascential and TechTarget), whilst maintaining balance sheet flexibility, with year-end leverage of 2.6x net debt to adjusted EBITDA.

In 2025, we will see our leverage move to within our target range of 1.5x to 2.5x net debt to adjusted EBITDA, with capacity for further investment in growth and consistent shareholder returns.

Long-term financing flexibility

In October, we issued €1.75bn of bonds to refinance the Acquisition Bridge Facility put in place to fund the addition of Ascential plc. The oversubscribed bond took the Group's post-issue total average debt maturity to 3.4 years and the forward weighted average cost of debt to 4.3%, providing long-term financing flexibility at attractive rates.

11% Dividend growth and £200m+ minimum Share Buyback commitment

Our commitment to reinvest back in the business to drive future growth is matched by a commitment to deliver consistent shareholder returns, including progressive dividends and share buybacks.

In 2024, we completed over £425m of share buybacks, leading to the cancellation of 51.5m shares. Payment of the 2023 final dividend and the 2024 interim dividend within the year saw a further £248m of capital returned to shareholders, taking total in-year cash returns to over £675m.

In 2025, strong forward visibility and growth and further strong cash generation are reflected in a c.11% increase in total 2024 dividends and the resumption of the Share Buyback Programme, in line with our Capital Allocation Policy, with an initial minimum investment of £200m, effective immediately.

Board Update

In 2024, Informa welcomed two new non-executive Board Directors, Maria Kyriacou and Catherine Levene, both bringing extensive and relevant executive experience to the Group, with particular expertise in US media and digital media.

Maria is a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees, whilst Catherine is a member of the Nomination Committee and will also now join the Remuneration Committee with immediate effect.

Financial Review

Income Statement

Informa delivered a strong set of results for the year ended 31 December 2024, including 11.6% underlying revenue growth and 22.9% underlying adjusted operating profit growth which resulted in a new record high level of revenue and adjusted operating profit for the Group. This reflected strong trading performances across both B2B and Academic Markets, both delivering double digit underlying revenue and adjusted operating profit growth.

Financial Results

Our performance includes a 11.4% increase in revenue to £3,553.1m. Every division delivered underlying revenue growth in the year. The Group reported a statutory operating profit of £542.8m in 2024, compared with a statutory operating profit of £507.8m for the year ended 31 December 2023. The growth in 2024 reflected strong trading performance across all regions, supported by strong results in both B2B and Academic Markets. Adjusted operating profit was £995.0m, growing 22.9% year-on-year on an underlying basis, again with growth delivered in all our divisions.

Statutory net finance costs increased by £82.2m to £102.2m, with adjusted net finance costs increasing by £60.4m to £79.6m. This was as a result of acquisition activity through 2023 and 2024 that reduced overall cash balances, and therefore lowered interest income, together with increased interest charges following the €1.75bn issuance of Euro Medium Term Notes to fund acquisitions.

The combination of all these factors led to a statutory profit before tax of £407.3m in 2024, compared with a statutory profit before tax of £492.1m in 2023. The profit in the year led to a statutory tax charge of £40.9m in 2024 compared to a tax charge of £29.4m in the prior year.

This profit outcome translated into a statutory diluted earnings per share of 22.2p compared to 29.9p for the prior year, with the £82.2m increase in statutory net finance costs partially offset by the £35.0m increase in statutory operating profit. Adjusted diluted EPS grew to 50.1p from 45.3p in the prior year, an increase of 10.6%.

Measurement and Adjustments

In addition to statutory results, adjusted results are prepared for the Income Statement. These include adjusted operating profit, adjusted diluted earnings per share and other underlying measures. A full definition of these metrics can be found in the Glossary of terms on page 42. The divisional table on page 12 provides a reconciliation between statutory operating profit and adjusted operating profit by division.

Revenue and adjusted operating profit growth on an underlying basis are reconciled to statutory growth in the table below:

Adjusting Items

The items below have been excluded from adjusted results. The total adjusting items included in the operating profit in the year were £452.2m (2023: £346.0m). The increase in adjusting items is primarily due to lower gains on the remeasurement of contingent consideration and increased acquisition and integration costs.

1. Excludes intangible product development and software amortisation of £46.1m (2023: £41.1m)

Intangible amortisation of £309.6m (2023: £312.8m) relates to the historical additions of book lists and journal titles, acquired databases, customer and attendee relationships and brands related to exhibitions, events and conferences and product development. As it relates to acquisitions, it is not treated as an ordinary cost. By contrast, intangible asset amortisation arising from software assets and product development, is treated as an ordinary cost in the calculation of operating profit, so is not treated as an adjusting item.

Acquisition costs of £66.0m (2023: £53.3m) principally relate to the combination with TechTarget and the acquisition of Ascential.

Divisional Performance

The table below shows the results and adjusting items by Division, highlighting strong growth in the B2B Markets businesses and in our Academic Markets business, Taylor & Francis.

1. Intangible asset amortisation is in respect of acquired intangibles and excludes amortisation of software and product development of £46.1m (2023: £41.1m)

2. Other comprises the post-acquisition results of Ascential and TechTarget, which were acquired during the year ended 31 December 2024

Adjusted Net Finance Costs

Adjusted net finance costs, which consist of interest costs on our corporate bond borrowings and loans, partially offset by interest income on bank deposits, increased by £60.4m to £79.6m. This was a result of acquisition activity through 2023 and 2024 that reduced overall cash balances, and therefore lowered interest income, together with increased interest charges following the €1.75bn issuance of Euro Medium Term Notes to fund acquisitions.

The reconciliation of adjusted net finance costs to the statutory finance costs and finance income is as follows:

Taxation

Approach to tax

The Group continues to recognise that taxes paid are part of the economic benefit created for the societies in which we operate, and that a fair and effective tax system is in the interests of tax-payers and society at large. We aim to comply with tax laws and regulations everywhere the Group does business and Informa has open and constructive working relationships with tax authorities worldwide. Our approach balances the interests of stakeholders including shareholders, governments, colleagues and the communities in which we operate.

The Group's adjusted effective tax rate (as defined in the Glossary) reflects the blend of tax rates and profits in the jurisdictions in which we operate. In 2024, the adjusted effective tax rate was 19.5% (2023: 18.7%).

The calculation of the adjusted effective tax rate is as follows:

Tax payments

During 2024, the Group paid £122.3m (2023: £112.4m) of corporation tax and similar taxes.

A breakdown of the main geographies in which the Group paid tax is as follows:

The reconciliation of the adjusted tax charge to cash taxes paid is as follows:

The recognised deferred tax assets relating to US, UK and Luxembourg tax losses were £22.2m (2023: £37.6m), £56.1m (2023: £9.8m) and £83.5m (2023: £15.9m) respectively. These are expected to be utilised against future taxable profits.

Goodwill is not amortised as it is subject to impairment reviews, and as a result there is no charge to adjusting items for goodwill amortisation. However, there can be an allowable tax benefit for certain goodwill amortisation in the US and elsewhere. Where this benefit arises, it reduces the tax charge on adjusted profits.

The amortisation of intangible assets is considered an adjusting item. The £10.0m (2023: £12.6m) of current tax credits taken in respect of the amortisation of intangible assets is therefore also treated as an adjusting item and included in the tax credits in respect of adjusting items.

Tax contribution

The Group's total tax contribution, which comprises all material taxes paid to, and collected, on behalf of governments globally was £545.8m in 2024 (2023: £510.3m). The geographic split of taxes paid by our businesses was as follows:

In addition to the above, in 2024 we collected taxes on behalf of governments (e.g. employee taxes and sales taxes) amounting to £332.0m (2023: £316.2m).

Dividends

The Group resumed dividend payments in 2022 and in 2023 the dividend was increased significantly to reflect the strong growth in Group earnings. Going forward, the Group will look to continue progressively growing dividends to strike a balance between rewarding shareholders and retaining the financial strength and flexibility to invest in the business and pursue growth opportunities.

An interim dividend of 6.4p per share (2023: 5.8p per share) was paid on 20 September 2024. The total amount paid in 2024 relating to the final dividend for 2023 and interim dividend for 2024 was £248.2m (2023: £176.6m). The Board has recommended a final dividend of 13.6p per share for FY24 (2023: 12.2p per share). The final dividend is scheduled to be paid on 11 July 2025 to ordinary shareholders registered at the close of business on 30 May 2025. This will result in total dividends for the year of 20.0p per share (2023: 18.0p per share). The Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) will be available for the final dividend and the last date for receipt of elections for the DRIP will be 20 June 2025.

Dividend cover (see Glossary of Terms for definition) was 2.5 times (2023: 2.5 times), being adjusted diluted EPS of 50.1p (2023: 45.3p) divided by total dividends per share of 20.0p (2023: 18.0p pence). Our dividend pay-out ratio was 40%, being total dividends per share of 20.0p divided by adjusted diluted EPS of 50.1p.

Earnings Per Share

Adjusted diluted EPS was 10.6% higher at 50.1p (2023: 45.3p), largely reflecting higher adjusted earnings of £673.3m (2023: £635.1m) together with a 4.2% decrease in the weighted average number of shares following the share buybacks completed during the year.

An analysis of adjusted diluted EPS and statutory diluted EPS is as follows:

Currency Movements

One of the Group's strengths is its international reach and balance, with colleagues and businesses located in most major economies of the world. This means the Group generates revenues and costs in a mixture of currencies, with particular exposure to the US dollar, as well as some exposure to the Euro and the Chinese renminbi.

In 2024 approximately 66% (2023: 62%) of Group revenue was received in USD or currencies pegged to USD, with 9% (2023: 8%) received in Euro and 8% (2023: 9%) in Chinese renminbi.

Similarly, we incurred approximately 55% (2023: 54%) of our costs in USD or currencies pegged to USD, with 5% (2023: 4%) in Euro and 7% (2023: 7%) in Chinese renminbi.

In 2024, each one cent ($0.01) movement in the USD to GBP exchange rate has a circa £19m (2023: circa £16m) impact on annual revenue, and a circa £8m (2023: circa £6m) impact on annual adjusted operating profit.

The following rates versus GBP were applied during the year:

Free Cash Flow

Cash management and cash generation remain a key priority and focus for the Group, providing the funds and flexibility for paying down debt, future organic and inorganic investment, and returns to shareholders. Our businesses typically convert adjusted operating profit into cash at a strong rate, reflecting the relatively low capital intensity of the Group. In 2024, absolute levels of free cash flow continued to grow year-on-year driven by higher profits and working capital inflows compared to working capital outflows in the previous year.

The following table reconciles the statutory operating profit to operating cash flow and free cash flow, both of which are defined in the Glossary.

1. Adjusted EBITDA represents adjusted operating profit before interest, tax, and non-cash items including depreciation and amortisation

2. Working capital movement excludes movements on restructuring, reorganisation, COVID-19 costs and acquisition and integration accruals or provisions as the cash flow relating to these amounts is included in other lines in the free cash flow and reconciliation from free cash flow to net funds flow. The variance between the working capital in the free cash flow and the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement is driven by the non-cash movement on these items

Free cash flow was £180.4m higher than 2023 principally due to the £141.2m higher adjusted operating profit and a working capital inflow of £34.2m in the year (2023: £55.2m outflow), which was partly offset by an increase of £35.0m in net interest paid, an increase in cash tax of £9.9m, and an increase in capex investment of £6.2m. 

The calculation of operating cash flow conversion and free cash flow conversion is as follows:

Net capital expenditure increased to £100.0m (2023: £93.8m) reflecting our continuing investments in technology, real estate and other capital expenditure. This investment was equivalent to 2.8% of 2024 revenue (2023: 2.9%).

Net cash interest payments of £74.2m were £35.0m higher than the prior year, largely reflecting lower interest receivable in 2024. The prior year, particularly in the first half, benefitted from higher amounts of cash balances following the divestments in 2022. These funds were re-invested in acquisitions across 2023 and 2024 as well as in share buybacks and dividends.

The following table reconciles net cash inflow from operating activities, as shown in the Consolidated Cash Flow statement, to Free Cash Flow:

Net cash inflow from operating activities increased by £181.4m to £801.6m, principally driven by the increase in adjusted profit in the year, a working capital inflow of £34.2m, compared to an outflow of £55.2m in 2023, partly offset by higher taxes paid. The working capital inflow in 2024 was driven by strong collections as customers paid upfront for future events. The working capital outflow in 2023 reflected the recognition of revenue for events where the cash collections had been received prior to 2023, with the events postponed until 2023 because of the pandemic (particularly relevant for events in China).

The following table reconciles cash generated by operations, as shown in the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement to operating cash flow from shown in the Free Cash Flow table above:

The following table reconciles free cash flow from operations to net funds flow and net debt, with net debt increasing by £1,745.4m to £3,201.8m during the year.

Financing and Leverage

Net debt increased by £1,745.4m in the year to £3,201.8m (2023: £1,456.4m). This was largely due to the consideration paid for a number of acquisitions during the year, as well as shareholder returns through dividends and share buybacks, which were partially offset by strong growth in free cash flow.

The Group retains significant available liquidity, with unutilised committed financing facilities available to the Group of £1,050.0m (31 December 2023: £1,097.1m, of which £47.1m related to Curinos). Combined with £484.3m of cash (31 December 2023: £389.3m), the available group level liquidity at 31 December 2024 was £1,534.3m (31 December 2023: £1,486.4m).

The average debt maturity on our drawn borrowings is currently 3.4 years (2023: 2.7 years). There are no significant maturities until October 2025.

The Informa leverage ratio at 31 December 2024 was 2.6 times (31 December 2023: 1.4 times), and the Informa interest cover ratio was 12.7 times (31 December 2023: 75.2 times). Both are calculated using our historical basis of reporting of financial covenants which no longer applied at 31 December 2024. See the Glossary of terms for the definition of Informa leverage ratio and Informa interest cover.

The calculation of the Informa leverage ratio is as follows:

1. Refer to Glossary for details of the adjustments to EBITDA and net debt for Informa leverage ratio

The calculation of Informa interest cover is as follows:

1. Refer to Glossary for details of the adjustments to EBITDA for Informa interest cover

There are no financial covenants over any of the Group's borrowings (2023: £30.4m, relating to Curinos).

Corporate Development

Informa has a proven track record in creating value through identifying, executing and integrating complementary businesses effectively into the Group. In 2024, cash invested in acquisitions was £1,636.4m (2023: £1,125.1m). Of this, £1,450.5m (2023: £596.7m) related to spend on acquisitions net of cash acquired, £8.2m (2023: £22.8m) to cash paid for business assets, £97.2m (2023: £57.4m) to acquisition and integration spend, £14.6m (2023: £nil) to cash paid to acquire Tarsus non-controlling interests, £59.2m (2023: £443.9m) to the repayment of acquired debt and £6.7m (2023: £4.3m) to a further investment in the Group's interest in BolognaFiere.

Acquisitions

Informa completed a number of acquisitions during 2024, the most significant being Solar Media, IMN, TechTarget and Ascential.

On 4 April 2024, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Solar Media Limited (Solar Media). Solar Media is a UK-based business specialising in the delivery of B2B Events focused on the clean energy sector. Total consideration was £48.1m, of which £43.6m was paid in cash and £4.5m was deferred cash consideration. The deferred consideration is payable 12 months after the date of completion.

On 3 September 2024, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of IMN Limited (IMN). IMN is a U.S.-based organiser of institutional real estate events, focusing primarily on the U.S. real estate market. Total consideration was £95.0m ($125.2m), all of which was paid in cash.

On 9 October 2024, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Ascential plc, parent company of the Ascential Group, and its subsidiaries (collectively 'Ascential'). Ascential is a specialist events-led, intelligence and advisory business and owner of the Cannes Lions and Money20/20 businesses. Total consideration was £1,198.5m, all of which was paid in cash.

On 2 December 2024, the Group completed the transaction contemplated by its definitive agreement with TechTarget, Inc. to contribute its Digital Tech businesses, along with approximately £275.6m ($350m) in cash to TechTarget shareholders to create Informa TechTarget, a leading growth accelerator to the B2B technology sector. Upon closing of the transaction, Informa beneficially owned a controlling holding of 57 percent of the outstanding share capital (on a fully diluted basis) of Informa TechTarget with the former TechTarget shareholders owning the remainder. Informa TechTarget shares are traded on NASDAQ under TechTarget's previous name "TechTarget, Inc."

Disposals

During the year the Group disposed of its investments in both the Curinos and Maritime businesses for overall cash consideration of £202.3m, excluding the impact of any further consideration received upon a subsequent sale of the Curinos business.

Share Buyback

In the year ended 31 December 2024, £428.2m of shares were repurchased with 51.5m shares cancelled. Cumulatively, since the programme started, £1,489.5m of shares had been repurchased with 217.6m shares cancelled by 31 December 2024. The shares acquired during the year ended 31 December 2024 were at an average price of 831p per share, with prices ranging from 726p to 871p.

Pensions

The Group continues to meet all commitments to its pension schemes, which include five (2023: five) defined benefit schemes, all of which are closed to future accruals.

At 31 December 2024, the Group had a net pension surplus of £42.7m (31 December 2023: £41.7m), comprising a pension surplus of £48.5m (31 December 2023: £48.1m) and pension deficits of £5.8m (31 December 2023: £6.4m). Gross liabilities were £439.9m at 31 December 2024 (31 December 2023: £478.2m).

Consolidated Income Statement

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the year ended 31 December 2024

1. See Note 17

2. Total attributable to equity holders of the company

3. £548.3m of shares have been bought back during the period. £15.9m represents the net movement in Informa's maximum liability for share buybacks with Informa's broker through to the conclusion of the Company's close period as at 31 December 2023

4. The acquisition of non-controlling interests includes £87.2m relating to the Tarsus acquisition

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity continued

For the year ended 31 December 2024 (unaudited)

1. See Note 17

2. Total attributable to equity holders of the company

3. £424.2m (2023: £548.3m) of shares have been bought back during the period. The maximum liability for share buybacks with Informa's broker through to the conclusion of the Company's close period as at 31 December 2024 is nil (2023: £90.9m), given that the Group's share buyback programme was paused in 2024

4. The acquisition of non-controlling interests includes £518.6m relating to the TechTarget acquisition (Note 13)

Consolidated Balance Sheet

As at 31 December 2024

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

1. General information

Informa PLC (the Company) is a company incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act 2006 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Company is a public company limited by shares and is registered in England and Wales with registration number 08860726. The address of the registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG.

These unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements, on pages 20 to 41, as at 31 December 2024 and for the year then ended comprise those of the Company, its subsidiaries and its interests in joint ventures and associates (together referred to as the Group).

These unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements are presented in pounds sterling (GBP), which is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Group operates and the functional currency of the Parent Company, Informa PLC.

2. Basis of Preparation

The unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 do not constitute the statutory financial statements for that year, but are derived from the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 which will be published on www.informa.com. While the Consolidated Financial Statements in these 2024 Preliminary Full Year Results have been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), these results do not in isolation contain sufficient information to comply with IFRS disclosure requirements. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 will be finalised based on the information presented by the Directors in this unaudited preliminary announcement.

The announcement of the 2024 Preliminary Full Year Results was approved on behalf of the Directors on 6 March 2025. The unaudited preliminary announcement does not constitute a dissemination of the annual financial report and does not therefore need to meet the dissemination requirements for annual financial reports. A separate dissemination announcement in accordance with Disclosure and Transparency Rules (DTR) 6.3 will be made when the 2024 Annual Report and Accounts are published and made available on www.informa.com.

To complete the going concern assessment, the Directors have modelled a base case with sensitivities and a reverse stress test for the period to June 2026. In modelling the base case, the Directors have assumed Group financial performance is consistent with the guidance given for 2025, followed by similar growth in the first half of 2026.

The reverse stress test shows that the Group can afford to lose 46% of its revenue from 1 April 2025 to the end of June 2026 and maintain positive liquidity headroom. This extremely remote scenario assumes no indirect cost savings and that customer receipts are refunded with no further receipts collected in the period.

Based on these results, the Directors believe the Group is well placed to manage its financing and other business risks in a satisfactory way. The Directors have been able to form a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operation for at least 12 months from the date of these unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements and consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements. 

No significant changes have been made to the accounting policies used in the preparation of these unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements with those applied by the Group in its Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023, subject to new accounting standards, and will be disclosed in full in the audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 which will be published on www.informa.com. The adoption of the new standards, interpretations and amendments did not lead to any changes to the Group's accounting policies or have any material impact on the financial position or performance of the Group.

3. Revenue

An analysis of the Group's revenue by type is set out below.

Year ended 31 December 2024 (unaudited)