11th Jan 2007 07:01
Informa PLC11 January 2007 TRADING UPDATE FOR YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2006 Informa plc, the global information specialist for the academic & scientific,professional and commercial markets, has continued to perform well in the secondhalf of the year and the Board is confident that the 2006 results will be inline with the significant growth expectations of the market. Informa's business activities comprise Events, Performance Improvement andPublishing. The Events businesses have taken full advantage of positive market conditions tofinish the year well. The geographically focused, regional businesses and thevertical market facing teams have both enjoyed good results. The IIR Dubai events business has finished a particularly good year with stronggrowth in all its flagship products including 'Cityscape' which became theworld's largest international property investment & development event. The showwelcomed 35,000 participants from 90 countries and over 500 exhibitors from 55countries. The Performance Improvement (PI) group of companies, working with corporate andgovernment clients to solve business issues in different operationaldisciplines, continue to experience strong global demand for their products andservices. The ability of these businesses to drive better results for theirclients using tailored intellectual property based learning programmes, coachingand measurement is generating strong repeat business. Each of the seven brandsis performing well, with particularly noteworthy results from Omega,specialising in financial services clients, which had profit growth of over 30%. Informa's Publishing businesses are taking advantage of electronically drivenrevenue increases and cost savings. For example, within journals, Taylor &Francis is generating good incremental revenue through digital archives as wellas faster and more cost-effective production by means of print-on-demand. InMaritime and Transport, the prestigious Lloyd's Maritime Intelligence Unit (MIU)with a history dating back nearly 300 years, has benefited from the launch inthe summer of a new marine information portal: www.Lloydsmiu.com. The sitepossesses the world's largest ship tracking system, currently capturing 28million vessel positions a day. Informa's broad geographic strength combined with deep-seated local knowledgedelivers results. All of Informa's business formats benefit from the Group'sinternational infrastructure. This has facilitated international productroll-out. The Events businesses have taken market leaders such as 'SuperReturn',the largest private equity event in the world, and 'The GSM World Series', thepremier mobile telecoms event brand, to Asia and North Africa respectively withnotable success. Performance Improvement has begun its franchise buy-backprogramme and is seeing particular growth in its international operations where,for example, ESI Europe, which specialises in project management, is expected tohave increased profits in 2006 by around 20%. By matching costs to revenues across geographies, and spreading debt betweensterling, euros and dollars, the net effect of foreign exchange fluctuations inInforma's 2006 results has been minimal, despite the volatility of the dollar.The impact of further currency movements in 2007 will be mitigated by 2006bolt-on acquisitions such as the Lawrence Erlbaum Associates behavioural scienceand education business. The Board looks forward with confidence to another good year of growth in 2007. Peter Rigby, Informa's Chief Executive, notes: "We moved into the second half of the year confident of more good performance in2006. We expected the growth opportunities from the IIR acquisition and themerger with Taylor & Francis in 2004 would pay off. And they have. "We've a good balance of resilient and growth capturing businesses. Thiscombination has allowed us to invest ambitiously in growth and this means thatwe move into 2007 with strong current trading, good visibility and pleasingprospects for another successful year." The preliminary results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2006, will beannounced on 14 March 2007. ENDS Further Enquiries:- Informa plc Tel: 020 7017 5000Tony Foye, Finance DirectorSusanna Kempe, CMO and Head of Investor Relations Tel: 020 7017 5796 Maitland Tel: 020 7379 5151William ClutterbuckEmma Burdett Notes to Editors Informa is the leading provider of specialist, high quality information to theglobal academic & scientific, professional, and commercial markets viapublishing, events and performance improvement. At the heart of every Informaproduct and service is research-based, proprietary information for a highlytargeted audience. Informa publishes approximately 2,500 subscription basedproducts and services, 45,000 books and produces 10,000 events each year poweredby a marketing database of over 20 million names. It has an unparalleledportfolio of brands including Lloyds List, Routledge, Taylor and Francis, IIRand Euroforum. Informa operates in 70 countries, employing approximately 7,500people in 150 offices. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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