The world’s largest exhibition company, Informa, has launched a £1 billion share placement and suspended its dividend to help shore up its balance sheet as the coronavirus pandemic brings the events industry to a standstill.
Hundreds of trade shows, festivals and conferences around the world have been postponed or cancelled in recent months, bringing the global events circuit to its knees.
In a trading update on Thursday, FTSE 100-listed Informa UKX, +2.81% said it had rescheduled more than 60 large events and 350 smaller shows worth around £460 million in the first four months of 2020. It added that less than 10% of events revenue — £150 million — has been cancelled.
The company produces more than 450 international events and trade shows a year across 4 countries, ranging from the Monaco Yacht Show to the China Beauty Expo.
Informa INF, +2.74% said the impact of coronavirus on its events-related business, which accounts for around 65% of revenue, had “intensified significantly” since the early disruption in China and that no events were scheduled at all in April.
The London-headquartered company expects reduced activity to continue through the second quarter and “much of the third quarter” before a gradual and phased recovery.
It also unveiled a raft of financial measures aimed at protecting profits which have been hit hard by the impact of the virus, including a share placement of up to 19.9% of new equity — around £1 billion — to strengthen the group’s balance sheet and reduce overall debt.
In addition, Informa suspended dividend payments, applied for the Bank of England’s COVID corporate financing facility, held discussions over a debt covenant waiver and cut costs by more than £130 million.
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