Informa Leads The FTSE 100 Higher As It Upgrades Forecasts

Informa charged to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboards following upgrades to its sales and profits forecasts for 2022.

At 588p the Informa share price was last 6% higher on Monday.

The business — which has operations in the publishing, business intelligence and events industries — has raised its full-year revenues guidance to between £2.3 billion and £2.35 billion. This is up from a prior forecast of £2.15 billion to £2.25 billion.

Consequently Informa is now guiding adjusted operating profit of £490 million to £505 million. It had previously estimated profits of between £470 million and £490 million.

Underlying Revenues Soar 41%

The Footsie business said that underlying revenues increased 41% in the first 10 months of 2022. This compares with growth of 3% in the same period in 2021.

Informa said it had witnessed a “strong outperformance” in live and on-demand events across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.

Trading has been strong following the end of Covid-19 lockdowns that battered the exhibitions industry.

Strength In Depth

At its B2B Markets live events and digital services unit, underlying revenues rose 65% between January and October. Informa said that “growth has been consistent across all specialist markets and all geographic regions” in 2022.

Excluding China — where coronavirus-related lockdowns remain in operation — group revenues are expected to hit at least 85% of 2019 levels for the full year. The business said it expects to record no live and on-demand events in its Chinese market during November and December.

Meanwhile, underlying revenues at the Academic Markets division edged 3% higher in the first 10 months. This was thanks to “the combination of strong Subscription renewals, continued growth in Advanced Learning and further expansion in Open Research,” Informa said.

“Demand Is Growing”

Chief executive Stephen A. Carter commented that “[the] B2B market demand is growing across many industries and most geographies, with the current exception of China, which will provide incremental growth as it reopens.”

Carter noted too that its four-year GAP 2 programme “continues to deliver growth and acceleration within both Academic Markets and B2B Markets.”

Under its second Growth Acceleration Plan (GAP) the business is looking to exceed pre-pandemic revenues by 2024 through expansion and increased digitalisation.

The Informa chief also said that “our divestment programme has completed ahead of schedule and with returns ahead of target, significantly strengthening our balance sheet and putting Informa in a strong position for further growth and investment in 2023.”

The business said that it expects to deliver net debt of close to zero in 2022. Free cash flow is tipped to be at more than £400 million.

A Bright Outlook For 2023

Informa said that it expects to make further progress next year.

It said that “the operating momentum across both our businesses, combined with the strength of our positions in North America, put us in a strong position for continued growth and acceleration in 2023.”

The FTSE 100 firm added that it expects to enjoy incremental growth in China, too.

Informa added that “we are not immune to macro-economic trends,” however, noting that “[we] continually monitor the potential impact of inflation, interest rate rises, energy costs and other factors that may influence operating costs and overall market activity.”