Informa PLC 2024 Half-Year Results

24 July 2024

Operating Performance, Expansion and Balance Sheet Strength

Informa (LSE: INF.L), the international B2B Events, B2B Digital Services and Academic Markets Group today published half year results for 2024, delivering underlying operating profit growth of 18.8%, revenue growth of 11% and dividend growth of 10%, thereby increasing full year guidance. Separately, the Group today announced a recommended cash offer for Ascential plc.

2024 Half Year Results…

·      Double-digit underlying growth: Underlying revenue growth of 11.0% and underlying adjusted operating profit growth of 18.8% in H1 2024, reflecting further strong growth in B2B Markets businesses (Informa Markets, Informa Connect and Informa Tech) and accelerating growth in Academic Markets;

·      Double-digit reported growth: On a reported basis, Informa delivered double-digit growth in Revenues (+11.5% to £1,695.3m), Adjusted Operating Profit (+12.9% to £466.9m) and Free Cash Flow (+27.1% to £285.5m);

·      Increased 2024 full year guidance: Underlying growth, international expansion and AI partnerships lead to a further increase in 2024 full year guidance. Results now expected to be above the top-end of the guidance range, including double-digit underlying revenue growth and an ambition to deliver adjusted operating profit of up to £1bn;

·      Higher operating margin: Adjusted operating margin increased to 27.5% (H1 2023: 27.2%). Continuing conversion of revenues to profits supports further margin expansion across the full year;

·      Growth in adjusted earnings: Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share +5.8% to 23.8p (H1 2023: 22.5p), with underlying growth balanced by currency movements, biennial phasing, interest costs, tax rates and a step up in non-controlling interests;

·      Further statutory performance: H1 2024 statutory revenue of £1,695.3m (H1 2023: £1,520.5m), statutory operating profit of £262.9m (H1 2023: £298.9m) and statutory diluted EPS of 10.8p (H1 2023: 17.9p);

·      Balance sheet strength: Operating performance, free cash flow growth and capital allocation discipline reflected in enhanced credit ratings, with Moody's, S&P Global and Fitch upgrading to Baa2, BBB and BBB respectively.

Recommended Offer for Ascential plc

·      Recommended offer at 568p in cash: As detailed in a separate 2.7 statement, Informa has announced a recommended offer for Ascential plc, the owner of the Lions and Money20/20 businesses, for £1.2bn in cash;

Momentum and Growth in all divisions…

·      Informa Markets…Further strong growth: Increasing demand for high quality connections and live B2B experiences delivering volume and value growth (12.9% underlying revenue growth in H1), supported by investment in enhanced customer experience and value-added digital services;

·      Informa Connect…Growth and expansion: Investment in first party data, customer value and event festivalisation driving improved customer retention, higher yields and consistent strong growth (6.5% underlying revenue growth in H1). Addition of Tarsus and Winsight portfolios have added scale and further depth in the Anti-Aging & Aesthetics and FoodService sectors;

·      TechTarget…Continuing combination progress: Proposed combination of Informa Tech's Digital Businesses (Industry Dive, Omdia, Canalys, NetLine and the Digital Media Brands) with NASDAQ-listed TechTarget on track to complete in Q4 2024, with preliminary SEC proxy statement filed and combination planning well advanced;

·      Taylor & Francis…Accelerated growth: Continuing growth in Open Research combined with robust performance in Pay-to-Read products (Subscription renewals, Advanced Learning) is delivering continuing underlying revenue growth, which is further boosted by AI partnership revenues (7.5% underlying revenue growth in H1);

·      Informa Group…Internationalisation and growth: Breadth and depth in fast-growth economies delivering revenue acceleration through geo-adaptations and new event launches, with particular strength in the IMEA region (India, Middle East and Africa);

·      AI partnerships…Further momentum: Value of unique specialist content reflected in Partnership and Data Access agreements with AI technology leaders; second major partnership secured, taking AI-related revenues to $75m+ in 2024; commitment to reinvest up to one third of 2024 AI partnership profit into accelerated Technology, Open Research and AI product development, including specialised expert agents based on our unique content.

Strong Shareholder Returns…

·      Free cash flow strength: Strong cash conversion providing flexibility to reinvest in organic growth initiatives and inorganic expansion, with consistently strong shareholder returns;

·      Strong shareholder returns: Share buybacks of £339m completed in the first half, additional cash returns in July from payment of 2023 Final Dividend of 12.2p per share or £164m;

·      Continuing dividend growth¹: Strong underlying performance supports consistent dividend growth, with the interim dividend increased 10.3% year-on-year to 6.4p;

·      Ongoing share buybacks in 2024: Share Buyback Programme further extended in May, c.£420m completed to 23 July and over £1.45bn returned via buybacks since the divestment of our Intelligence portfolio in 2022;

·      Review of retained investments: We are currently reviewing our portfolio of retained minority investments to determine the best route to unlock value from these interests. This follows strong operating performances and expressions of interest from third parties.

¹In this report, we refer to non-statutory measures, as defined in the Glossary on page 59.

Enquiries
Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive	+44 (0) 20 8052 0400
Gareth Wright, Group Finance Director	+44 (0) 20 8052 0400
Richard Menzies-Gow, Director of IR & Communications	+44 (0) 20 8052 2787
Tim Burt / Anthony Di Natale - Teneo	+44 (0) 7583 413254 / +44 (0) 7880 715975

 

2024 H1 Financial Summary 

	H1 2024	H1 2023	Reported	Underlying2
	£m	£m	%	%
Revenue	1,695.3	1,520.5	11.5	11.0
Statutory operating profit	262.9	298.9
Adjusted operating profit3	466.9	413.5	12.9	18.8
Adjusted operating margin (%)3	27.5	27.2
Statutory profit before tax	237.4	314.6
Adjusted profit before tax3	441.2	416.3
Statutory diluted earnings per share (p)	10.8	17.9
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (p)3	23.8	22.5	5.8
Cash flow from operating activities3	285.4	188.6
Free cash flow3	285.5	224.6	27.1
Net debt (incl. Leases)3	1,712.6	1,214.1
Dividend per share (p)	6.4	5.8	10.3
2024 H1 Divisional Highlights
	H1 2024	H1 2023	Reported	Underlying2
	£m	£m	%	%
Informa Markets
Revenue	838.3	760.8	10.2	12.9
Statutory operating profit / (loss)	176.9	133.8	32.2
Adjusted operating profit3	274.8	238.1	15.4	24.5
Adjusted operating margin3 (%)	32.8	31.3
Informa Connect
Revenue	328.3	278.7	17.8	6.5
Statutory operating profit / (loss)	24.9	18.1	37.6
Adjusted operating profit3	67.4	60.7	11.0	6.7
Adjusted operating margin3 (%)	20.5	21.8
Informa Tech
Revenue	227.6	197.6	15.2	15.5
Statutory operating profit / (loss)	(10.8)	87.4	n/a
Adjusted operating profit3	30.3	27.6	9.8	15.6
Adjusted operating margin3 (%)	13.3	14.0
Taylor & Francis
Revenue	301.1	283.4	6.2	7.5
Statutory operating profit / (loss)	71.9	59.6	20.6
Adjusted operating profit3	94.4	87.1	8.4	13.6
Adjusted operating margin3 (%)	31.4	30.7

²In 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 accounting 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 disposals from the date of disposal in the comparative period. Statutory figures exclude such adjustments. Alternative performance measures are detailed in the Glossary.

³In this document we also 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 4 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Operating Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow, Net Debt and other non-statutory measures are detailed in the Financial Review and Glossary. This is consistent with prior periods.

 

Trading Outlook

Informa's strategy to internationalise and focus its businesses on structurally growing specialist sectors and niche subject categories is serving the company well. Notwithstanding the uncertainty caused by ongoing conflict, national elections and macro-economic headwinds, the execution of our strategy combined with our investment in first party data, digital platforms and customer experience, is delivering strong operating momentum.

Further increase to 2024 Full Year Guidance

Strong underlying performances in all of Informa's businesses through the first half of 2024, combined with good forward visibility and AI partnerships have led to a further increase in full year expectations.

Across our B2B Markets businesses (Informa Markets, Informa Connect, Informa Tech), we are now targeting double digit aggregate underlying revenue growth and higher adjusted operating margins. Similarly, in Academic Markets (Taylor & Francis), the addition of further AI partnerships is expected to take AI partnership revenues to $75m+ in 2024. This will increase total divisional underlying revenue growth to a double-digit percentage, comprising underlying operational growth of c.4% and an additional c.10% from AI-partnerships.

We continue to invest in first party data, enhancing our digital platforms and improving customer/author experience through automation, simplification and high value services. Informa will be reinvesting up to one third of the AI-partnership profits in Taylor & Francis into accelerated technology, Open Research and AI product development across the Group.

Notwithstanding this investment programme, we are targeting a Group adjusted operating margin of c.28% in 2024, in line with our stated margin ambitions.

Increased Market Guidance

	2024 Updated Guidance	2024 Current Guidance	2023 Reported
Group Underlying Revenue Growth	Double-digit	High single digit	30.4%
Revenues	Above the range	Upper end of range: £3,450m - £3,500m	£3,189.6m
Adjusted Operating Profit	Above the range         (up to £1bn)	Upper end of range: £950m - £970m	£853.8m
Adjusted Free Cash Flow	£740m+	£720m++	£631.7m
B2B Markets Underlying Revenue Growth	Double-digit	High single digit	39.2%
Academic Markets Underlying Revenue Growth	Double-digit	5%+	3.0%

*Guidance excludes any effect of the proposed combination with TechTarget; GBP/USD 1.26

Informa Markets…Unique power brands driving consistent strong growth

Our transaction-led Live B2B Events business continues to deliver strong performances across the world and the outlook for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025 remains very positive. As the world becomes ever more digital, companies are putting greater emphasis on face-to-face connections and opportunities to deepen customer relationships and develop new business, underpinning demand for our specialist B2B products and services.

At the heart of our strength is the power of our unique B2B brands, which serve more than 20 specialist sectors. Each brand is part of the fabric of its sector, acting as a platform for convening the industry, showcasing innovation and driving growth, investment and expansion.

Over recent years, we have been investing in First Party Data through IIRIS, as well as continuing to develop our range of value-added services for exhibitors and attendees. This is improving the overall customer experience and creating new revenue streams, driving up average yields across the portfolio.

We are also delivering consistent volume growth, both at existing shows and through the launch of new ones. Our international network is a key advantage, with powerful events platforms established in all major geographic regions. This is providing access to rapidly expanding economies in ASEAN and IMEA (India, Middle East, Africa), most notably in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is currently the fastest growing geography for B2B Events.

Through our Tahaluf partnership, our business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has grown from nothing three years ago to a portfolio that by the end of 2024 is on track to include 10 events in total, serving sectors including Real Estate & Construction (Cityscape Global) and Food & Hospitality (Inflavour) as well as Future Technology (LEAP) and Cyber Security (Black Hat Middle East). We will also this year launch a new brand, 24 FinTech, into the rapidly growing FinTech sector in the region.

The combination of volume and value growth is expected to deliver double-digit underlying revenue growth in Informa Markets in 2024, with more than 100 of its 350 major brands on track to grow more than 15%.

These positive dynamics are expected to continue, which are reflected in strong rebooking trends across the portfolio, with 2025 forward booked revenues tracking ahead of where they were at the same time last year, suggesting another year of strong growth ahead.

Informa Connect…Customer value, festivalisation and growth

The core drivers of demand for our content-led Live B2B Events are similar to Informa Markets, with increasing value being placed on face-to-face experiences that convene industries and professional communities and deliver high value content and connections.

Amongst these events, we are also seeing an increasing trend towards festivalisation, mirroring the growth in consumer events, with premium value paid for unique experiences that create a fear of missing out, immersive activities that deepen connections to the community and those events offering a broad spectrum of cutting-edge content and inspirational speakers.

A number of Informa Connect's brands possess some of these characteristics (eg SuperReturn, IM Power) and we are investing to expand and enhance these premium features both within these events and across the wider portfolio, where relevant.

In tandem, we continue to leverage our first party customer data and analytics platform, IIRIS, to increase value for delegates and sponsors. IIRIS is embedded across our B2B Events portfolio, delivering 20m+ first party data records, and fuelling products like Lead Insights, an end-to-end platform for scoring, qualifying and activating leads. This is enabling customers to analyse events/digital data in near real-time and directly launch and track targeting campaigns, significantly increasing the utility and value of our data.

Data is also at the heart of our subscription-based businesses within Informa Connect: IGM (Fixed Income/FX Data & Information), Zephyr (Wealth Management Data & Reporting) and Curinos (Retail Banking Data & Intelligence). Following a period of investment to strengthen underlying technology and expand our service offering, these specialist data and content businesses are building momentum, with growth anticipated to improve through the second half of the year.

In 2023, we expanded the Informa Connect portfolio through the addition of brands from the Tarsus and Winsight acquisitions, expanding our position in the Anti-Aging & Aesthetics (A4M Spring Congress), Healthcare (Health Connect Partners) and FoodService (National Restaurant Association Show) sectors. These businesses are now fully integrated into Informa Connect's platform and already contributing to growth. The scale of Informa Connect will be further enhanced when our portfolio of B2B Technology Event brands currently managed within Informa Tech (Black Hat, GDC, London Tech Week etc) are combined into the business, which will take total revenues for the division to more than $1bn.

Looking forward, pacing on delegate and sponsorship revenues remains strong across the portfolio and with accelerating growth expected in our subscriptions-based businesses through the second half of the year, we expect full year underlying revenue growth to be above the run rate through the first half.

Informa Tech…Growth and US expansion

At Informa Tech, the focus for 2024 is twofold: firstly, to maintain positive trading momentum across the portfolio and, secondly, to complete the procedural elements of the proposed TechTarget combination and bring the two businesses together effectively, with a view to completion in Q4 2024 and entering 2025 as a new business listed on NASDAQ.

Trading through the first half of the year was strong, with underlying revenue growth of 15.5% driven largely by the Events portfolio and strong performances in Future Technology (LEAP), Festivals (London Tech Week) and Data (Data Center World). Our subscriptions-based Specialist Tech Research businesses, Omdia and Canalys, also performed well, with the other digital businesses broadly flat in aggregate, in line with wider industry trends. This was as anticipated at the start of the year, with an expectation that marketing investment by technology companies will start to pick up as we move into 2025.

Looking ahead, with fewer high growth brands running through the second six months of the year, underlying revenue growth is expected to ease from first half levels.

TechTarget: On track for completion in Q4 2024

The proposed combination of Informa Tech's digital businesses (Industry Dive, Omdia, Canalys, NetLine and the Digital Media Brands) with US-listed TechTarget is progressing to plan and remains on schedule to complete in Q4.

The combined business will be led by Gary Nugent, Informa Tech's current CEO, and headquartered and listed in the US, with the ambition to become a leading B2B growth accelerator for Technology companies.

As detailed in the preliminary proxy statement filed with the SEC in recent weeks, the ambition is to double revenues of the combined business to $1bn within five years, through a combination of underlying growth and targeted additions. Strong underlying revenue growth combined with $45m of operating synergies is also expected to increase adjusted EBITDA margins to 35%+.

Academic Markets…Growth acceleration and AI partnerships

The breadth and volume of specialist research output continues to grow around the world, underpinned by growth in higher education and consistent state-level investment in innovation. In a world where inaccurate or fabricated outputs and claims are becoming more prevalent, all this research wants some level of independent validation and verification, alongside indexing and distribution. This is underpinning demand for specialist academic services and fuelling growth in open research.

These dynamics are reflected in our own business, with traditional pay-to-read subscription and advanced learning products maintaining strong relevance within institutions and with funders and authors. There is no shortage of high-quality research submissions to traditional peer review journals, ensuring standards remain high and demand for access strong. This is underpinning journal subscriptions and the continuing importance and value of Read and Publish Agreements with certain institutions.

At the same time, we are seeing Open Research volumes grow and our investments in processes and platforms over recent years are enabling us to capture and monetise more of this output. The combination of robust revenues in traditional areas with acceleration in Open Research is driving the overall rate of underlying growth higher. Additional AI-related revenues mean we will comfortably exceed our stated ambition to deliver 4% underlying revenue growth in 2024 but excluding this new category of revenues, we remain on track to meet our original target for underlying operational growth.

 

AI Development and Partnerships

Across the Group, we are deploying AI technology to drive operating efficiencies and enhance our products and services. Within Academic Markets, this includes deployment in areas such as research paper submissions, authenticity screening, factual verification and editorial.

We are also now partnering with two leading AI technology companies on the role of specialist expert agents, exploring the potential to develop new products that help to further promote discovery, research understanding, research integrity and knowledge creation.

These partnerships include Data Access agreements for non-exclusive access to certain archive content of Taylor & Francis, to help train and improve the relevance of outputs from Large Language Models ("LLMs"). They are a source of significant new value for Taylor & Francis and additional royalties for authors, with total AI partnership revenues expected to be over $75m in 2024. This covers access to historical content, with some additional recurring annual fees over the next three years for access to newly created knowledge.

Discussions with other AI technology companies are ongoing. We are focused on ensuring we fully leverage the power of AI in our own products and services and so have committed to reinvest up to one third of the profit generated through our partnerships into technology, open research, research integrity and AI product development at Informa, including in relation to improved discoverability and automated citations.

 

Financial review

Income Statement

The financial results for the six months to 30 June 2024 ("H1 2024") reflect a strong trading performance across both our B2B Markets businesses (Informa Markets, Informa Connect and Informa Tech) and our Academic Markets business, Taylor & Francis. Reported revenues and profits for these businesses were significantly higher than the prior year, driven by strong underlying revenue growth in all businesses.

 

 

	Adjusted results H1 2024	Adjusting items  H1 2024	Statutory results H1 2024	Adjusted results H1 2023	Adjusting items  H1 2023	Statutory results H1 2023
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Revenue	1,695.3	-	1,695.3	1,520.5	-	1,520.5
Operating profit/(loss)	466.9	(204.0)	262.9	413.5	(114.6)	298.9
Fair value gain on investments	-	4.3	4.3	-	9.4	9.4
(Loss)/profit on disposal of subsidiaries and equity interests	-	(4.1)	(4.1)	-	4.3	4.3
Net finance (costs)/income	(25.7)	-	(25.7)	2.8	(0.8)	2.0
Profit/(loss) before tax	441.2	(203.8)	237.4	416.3	(101.7)	314.6
Tax (charge)/credit	(90.5)	27.7	(62.8)	(79.1)	34.4	(44.7)
Profit/(loss) for the year	350.7	(176.1)	174.6	337.2	(67.3)	269.9
Adjusted operating margin	27.5%			27.2%
Adjusted diluted and statutory diluted EPS	23.8		10.8	22.5		17.9

 

 

Financial Results

Informa delivered an 11.5% increase in revenue in the first half to £1,695.3m, reflecting an 11.0% increase on an underlying basis. All divisions delivered revenue growth in the period.

The Group reported statutory operating profit of £262.9m, compared with statutory operating profit of £298.9m for the six months to 30 June 2023, with the decrease reflecting the non-recurrence of fair value gains recorded in the prior period. Adjusted operating profit was £466.9m, which was 12.9% higher year-on-year and 18.8% higher on an underlying basis, reflecting strong underlying revenue growth and increased adjusted operating margins.

Statutory net finance costs were £25.7m for H1 2024 (H1 2023: net finance income £2.0m), and adjusted net finance costs were £25.7m (H1 2023: net finance income £2.8m). The increase was driven by lower interest earned on cash balances following the reinvestment of cash received from the divestment of the Informa Intelligence businesses into targeted acquisitions, including Tarsus, Winsight and HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition.

The combination of all these factors led to a statutory profit before tax of £237.4m, compared with £314.6m in the six months ended 30 June 2023. The profit in the period led to a statutory tax charge of £62.8m in H1 2024 compared with a tax charge of £44.7m in the six months ended 30 June 2023.

This profit outcome translated into a statutory diluted earnings per share (EPS) of 10.8p compared with 17.9p for the six months ended 30 June 2023. This decrease reflects lower statutory operating profit, partially offset by fewer shares in issue as a result of the share buyback programme. Adjusted diluted EPS increased to 23.8p from 22.5p in the six months to 30 June 2023.

 

Measurement and Adjustments

In addition to statutory results, adjusted results are prepared for the Income Statement. These include adjusted operating profit, adjusted diluted EPS and other underlying measures. A full definition of these metrics can be found in the glossary of terms on page 59. The divisional table on page 11 provides a reconciliation between statutory operating profit and adjusted operating profit by division.

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

 

	Underlying growth	Phasing and other items	Acquisitions and disposals	Currency change	Reported growth
H1 2024
Revenue	11.0%	(2.8)%	6.7%	(3.4)%	11.5%
Adjusted operating profit	18.8%	(6.8)%	5.0%	(4.1)%	12.9%

 

 

Adjusting Items

The items below have been excluded from adjusted results. The total adjusting items included in the operating profit in the year were £204.0m (H1 2023: £114.6m). The most significant item in H1 2024 was intangible asset amortisation of £155.9m.

 

		H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
		£m	£m	£m
Intangible asset amortisation1		155.9	151.0	312.8
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangible assets		-	-	25.1
Impairment/(reversal) - right of use assets		3.5	(0.5)	(0.6)
Impairment - property and equipment		0.4	-	-
Acquisition costs		23.7	36.5	53.3
Integration costs		11.5	3.1	19.7
Restructuring and reorganisation costs		4.9	0.3	11.0
	Fair value loss on contingent consideration	19.5	3.0	12.0
	Fair value gain on contingent consideration	(15.4)	(78.8)	(87.6)
	Foreign exchange loss on swap settlement	-	-	5.6
	Credit in respect of unallocated cash	-	-	(5.3)
Adjusting items in operating profit		204.0	114.6	346.0
Fair value gain on investments		(4.3)	(9.4)	(1.3)
	Loss/(profit) on disposal of subsidiaries and equity interests	4.1	(4.3)	(3.0)
Finance costs		-	0.8	0.8
Adjusting items in profit before tax		203.8	101.7	342.5
Tax related to adjusting items		(27.7)	(34.4)	(127.0)
Adjusting items in profit for the period		176.1	67.3	215.5

1. Excludes intangible product development and software amortisation.

 

Intangible amortisation of £155.9m relates to the historical addition of book lists and journal titles, acquired databases, customer and attendee relationships and brands related to exhibitions, events and conferences. As it relates to acquisitions, this 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 £23.7m principally relate to the proposed combination with TechTarget.

 

 

Divisional Performance

The table below shows the H1 2024 results and adjusting items by Division, highlighting the continued strong growth across all of our businesses.

 

	Informa Markets	Informa Tech	Informa Connect	Taylor & Francis	Group
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Revenue	838.3	227.6	328.3	301.1	1,695.3
Underlying revenue growth	12.9%	15.5%	6.5%	7.5%	11.0%
Statutory operating profit/(loss)	176.9	(10.8)	24.9	71.9	262.9
Add back:
Intangible asset amortisation1	90.3	18.8	26.0	20.8	155.9
Impairment - right of use assets	-	1.4	1.8	0.3	3.5
Impairment - property and equipment	0.3	0.1	-	-	0.4
Acquisition costs	2.3	20.6	0.3	0.5	23.7
Integration costs	4.5	1.7	4.8	0.5	11.5
Restructuring and reorganisation (credits)/costs	(0.1)	4.5	0.1	0.4	4.9
Fair value loss/(gain) on contingent consideration	0.6	(6.0)	9.5	-	4.1
Adjusted operating profit	274.8	30.3	67.4	94.4	466.9
Underlying adjusted operating profit growth	24.5%	15.6%	6.7%	13.6%	18.8%

1. Intangible asset amortisation is in respect of acquired intangibles and excludes amortisation of software and product development.     

 

Adjusted Net Finance Costs

Adjusted net finance costs for the period were £25.7m compared to net finance income of £2.8m in H1 2023. Net statutory finance costs were £25.7m compared to net finance income of £2.0m in H1 2023. The movement in net finance costs primarily relates to lower interest income on cash balances in H1 2024 compared with H1 2023 when cash proceeds of £2.1bn were received from the divestment of the Informa Intelligence portfolio.

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

        

	H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Finance income	(6.6)	(37.9)	(47.4)
Finance costs	32.3	35.9	67.4
Statutory net finance costs/(income)	25.7	(2.0)	20.0
Add back: adjusting items relating to finance costs	-	(0.8)	(0.8)
Adjusted net finance costs/(income)	25.7	(2.8)	19.2

 

 

Taxation

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 taxpayers 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 H1 2024, the adjusted effective tax rate was 20.5% (H1 2023: 19.0%).

Earnings Per Share

Adjusted diluted EPS was 5.8% higher at 23.8p (H1 2023: 22.5p), largely reflecting higher adjusted earnings of £323.1m (H1 2023: £318.7m) together with a 3.9% decrease in the weighted average number of shares following share buybacks completed during the year.

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

	H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Statutory profit for the year	174.6	269.9	462.7
Add back: Adjusting items in profit/loss for the year	176.1	67.3	215.5
Adjusted profit for the year	350.7	337.2	678.2
Non-controlling interests relating to adjusted profit	(27.6)	(18.5)	(43.1)
Adjusted earnings	323.1	318.7	635.1
Weighted average number of shares used in adjusted diluted EPS (m)	1,359.0	1,414.3	1,402.7
Adjusted diluted EPS (p)	23.8	22.5	45.3

 

	H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Statutory profit for the year	174.6	269.9	462.7
Non-controlling interests	(27.3)	(16.4)	(43.7)
Statutory earnings	147.3	253.5	419.0
Weighted average number of shares used in diluted EPS (m)	1,359.0	1,414.3	1,402.7
Statutory diluted EPS (p)	10.8	17.9	29.9

 

Dividends

The Group has a progressive dividend policy, with a view to growing dividends steadily and consistently, striking a balance between rewarding shareholders and retaining the financial strength and flexibility to reinvest in the business and pursue attractive growth opportunities.

For H1 2024, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 6.4p per share (H1 2023: 5.8p per share). The interim dividend will be paid on 20 September 2024 to ordinary shareholders registered as at the close of business on 9 August 2024. The Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) will be available for the interim dividend and the last date for receipt of elections for the DRIP will be 30 August 2024.

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 expenses 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 H1 2024, approximately 64% (H1 2023: 65%) of Group revenue was received in USD or currencies pegged to USD, with 8% (H1 2023: 6%) received in Euro and 8% (H1 2023: 11%) in Chinese renminbi.

Similarly, in H1 2024 we incurred approximately 54% (H1 2023: 55%) of our costs in USD or currencies pegged to USD, with 7% (H1 2023: 8%) in Chinese renminbi and 3% (H1 2023: 3%) in Euro.

In H1 2024 each one cent ($0.01) movement in the USD to GBP exchange rate has a circa £18m (H1 2023: circa £16m) impact on annual revenue, and a circa £7m (H1 2023: circa £6m) impact on annual adjusted operating profit.

The following rates versus GBP were applied during the period:

 

	H1 2024			H1 2023		FY 2023
	Closing rate	Average rate	Closing rate		Average rate	Closing rate	Average rate
US dollar	1.26	1.27	1.26		1.23	1.27	1.24
Chinese renminbi	9.19	9.12	9.18		8.57	9.05	8.82
Euro	1.18	1.17	1.17		1.14	1.15	1.15

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 consistent shareholder returns. 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 lower working capital outflows. Working capital in H1 2023 was impacted by cash being held at 31 December 2022 against 2023 events previously postponed, particularly in China.

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

	H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Statutory operating profit	262.9	298.9	507.8
Add back: Adjusting items	204.0	114.6	346.0
Adjusted operating profit	466.9	413.5	853.8
Depreciation of property and equipment	7.9	6.4	13.5
Depreciation of right of use assets	13.6	12.6	26.3
Software and product development amortisation	22.8	18.8	41.1
Share-based payments	9.0	11.5	20.8
Loss/(profit) on disposal of other assets	0.1	(0.1)	2.4
Adjusted share of joint venture and associate results	(1.3)	(1.1)	(5.8)
Adjusted EBITDA1	519.0	461.6	952.1
Capital expenditure	(43.5)	(41.5)	(93.8)
Working capital movement2	(104.7)	(149.3)	(55.2)
Pension deficit contributions	(0.6)	(1.2)	(3.5)
Operating Cash Flow	370.2	269.6	799.6
Restructuring and reorganisation	(12.6)	(5.5)	(15.4)
Onerous contracts and one-off costs paid associated with COVID-19	-	(0.9)	(0.9)
Net interest (payments)/receipts	(18.0)	2.6	(39.2)
Taxation	(54.1)	(41.2)	(112.4)
Free Cash Flow	285.5	224.6	631.7

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 £60.9m higher than H1 2023 principally due to the £53.4m higher adjusted operating profit and £44.6m lower working capital outflow. These movements have been partially offset by an increase of £20.6m in interest payments, an increase of £12.9m in tax payments due to higher profits and an increase of £7.1m in restructuring and reorganisation spend. H1 2023 benefitted from higher levels of interest income as cash balances were elevated during the period following the divestment of the Informa Intelligence portfolio.

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

	H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Operating Cash Flow	370.2	269.6	799.6
Adjusted operating profit	466.9	413.5	853.8
Operating Cash Flow conversion	79.3%	65.2%	93.7%
	H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Free Cash Flow	285.5	224.6	631.7
Adjusted operating profit	466.9	413.5	853.8
Free Cash Flow conversion	61.1%	54.3%	74.0%

 

Net capital expenditure increased to £43.5m (H1 2023: £41.5m) and we expect full-year 2024 capital expenditure to be c.3% of revenue, as further investments are made particularly in technology and real estate.

 

Net cash interest payments of £18.0m were £20.6m higher than the prior year, largely reflecting a reduction in interest income on the Group's lower cash balances following investment in targeted acquisitions, share buybacks and dividends.

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

 

	H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities per statutory cash flow	285.4	188.6	620.2
Interest received	7.2	38.4	47.9
Purchase of property and equipment	(8.2)	(9.1)	(27.5)
Purchase of intangible software assets	(28.8)	(22.3)	(55.1)
Product development costs	(6.5)	(10.1)	(11.2)
Add back: Acquisition and integration costs paid	36.4	39.1	57.4
Free Cash Flow	285.5	224.6	631.7

Net cash from operating activities increased by £96.8m compared to H1 2023 to record an inflow of £285.4m, principally driven by the increased adjusted profit and lower working capital outflow in the year.

 

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

 

	H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Cash generated by operations per statutory cash flow	364.7	265.6	819.7
Capital expenditure paid	(43.5)	(41.5)	(93.8)
Add back: Acquisition and integration costs paid	36.4	39.1	57.4
Add back: Restructuring and reorganisation costs paid	12.6	5.5	15.4
Onerous contracts associated with COVID-19	-	0.9	0.9
Operating Cash Flow	370.2	269.6	799.6

 

The following table reconciles Free Cash Flow to net funds flow and net debt, with net debt increasing by £256.2m to £1,712.6m during the period. This increase in net debt is primarily due to the ongoing share buyback programme and investment in targeted acquisitions, partly offset by strong cash generation.

 

	H1 2024	H1 2023	FY 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Free Cash Flow	285.5	224.6	631.7
Acquisitions	(140.1)	(924.9)	(1,125.1)
Disposals	1.0	(8.5)	(16.0)
Add back: repayment of acquired debt	-	443.9	443.9
Dividends paid to shareholders	-	-	(176.6)
Dividends paid to non-controlling interests	(11.6)	(1.1)	(16.0)
Dividends received from investments	-	0.5	1.4
Purchase of own shares through share buyback	(332.8)	(289.9)	(548.0)
Purchase of shares for Trust	(3.4)	(3.0)	(4.8)
Net funds flow	(201.4)	(558.4)	(809.5)
Non-cash movements	(32.9)	40.3	76.0
Foreign exchange	16.9	4.8	2.7
Net lease additions in the year	(38.8)	(12.3)	(37.1)
Net debt as at 1 January	(1,456.4)	(244.6)	(244.6)
Acquired debt	-	(443.9)	(443.9)
Net debt	(1,712.6)	(1,214.1)	(1,456.4)

 

Financing and Leverage
Net debt increased by £256.2m in the period to £1,712.6m at 30 June 2024 (30 June 2023: net debt £1,214.1m; 31 December 2023: net debt £1,456.4m). This was largely due to the ongoing share buyback programme and investment in acquisitions made in H1 2024, as well as a £28.6m increase in lease liabilities. These movements were partly offset by a strong free cash flow performance in the period.

The Group retains significant available liquidity, with unutilised committed financing facilities available to the Group of £892.9m (30 June 2023: £1,098.3m; 31 December 2023: £1,097.1m). Combined with £342.0m of cash (30 June 2023: £1,057.5m; 31 December 2023: £389.3m), this resulted in available Group-level liquidity at 30 June 2024 of £1,234.9m (30 June 2023: £2,155.8m; 31 December 2023: £1,486.4m).

 

The average debt maturity on our drawn borrowings is 2.2 years at 30 June 2024 (30 June 2023: 2.6 years; 31 December 2023: 2.7 years). There are no maturities until October 2025.

 

	30 June 2024	30 June 2023	31 December 2023
Net debt and committed facilities	£m	£m	£m
Cash and cash equivalents	(342.0)	(1,057.5)	(389.3)
Bond borrowings	1,465.9	1,865.9	1,492.6
Bond borrowing fees	(5.2)	(7.3)	(6.2)
Bank borrowings	195.4	38.8	30.4
Bank borrowing fees	(1.8)	(3.0)	(2.3)
Derivative liabilities associated with borrowings	109.3	123.9	77.9
Loans from other parties including joint ventures and associates	7.9	-	-
Net debt before leases	1,429.5	960.8	1,203.1
Lease liabilities	292.4	264.7	263.8
Finance lease receivables	(9.3)	(11.4)	(10.5)
Net debt	1,712.6	1,214.1	1,456.4
Borrowings (excluding derivatives, leases, fees & overdrafts)	1,661.3	1,904.7	1,523.0
Unutilised committed facilities (undrawn RCF)	885.0	1,050.0	1,050.0
Unutilised committed facilities (undrawn Curinos facilities)	7.9	48.3	47.1
Total committed facilities	2,554.2	3,003.0	2,620.1

 

The Informa leverage ratio at 30 June 2024 is 1.6 times (30 June 2023: 1.2 times; 31 December 2023: 1.4 times), and the Informa interest cover ratio is 18.5 times (30 June 2023: 179.3 times; 31 December 2023: 75.2 times). Both are calculated consistently with our historical basis of reporting of financial covenants, albeit there are no financial covenants on our Group-level debt facilities. 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:

	30 June 2024	30 June 2023	31 December 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Net debt	1,712.6	1,214.1	1,456.4
Adjusted EBITDA (12 months)	1,009.5	807.0	952.1
Adjusted leverage	1.7x	1.5x	1.5x
Adjustment to EBITDA1	0.2x	-	0.1x
Adjustment to net cash/debt1	(0.3)x	(0.3)x	(0.2)x
Informa leverage ratio	1.6x	1.2x	1.4x

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:

	30 June 2024	30 June 2023	31 December 2023
	£m	£m	£m
Adjusted EBITDA (12 months)	1,009.5	807.0	952.1
Adjusted net finance costs (12 months)	46.8	13.1	19.2
Adjusted interest cover	21.6x	61.6x	49.6x
Adjustment to EBITDA1	(3.1)x	117.7x	25.6x
Informa Interest cover	18.5x	179.3x	75.2x

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

There are no financial covenants on any Group level borrowings. There are covenants on £30.4m (30 June 2023: £38.8m; 31 December 2023: £30.4m) of drawn borrowings in the Curinos business. These relate to borrowings of the Curinos business only.

Corporate Development

Informa has a proven track record in creating value through identifying, executing and integrating complementary businesses effectively into the Group. In H1 2024, cash invested in acquisitions was £140.1m (H1 2023: £924.9m); with £83.6m, net of cash acquired, relating to acquisitions (H1 2023: £434.9m), £5.5m (H1 2023: £7.0m) relating to cash paid for business assets, £36.4m (H1 2023: £39.1m) for acquisition and integration spend, £14.6m (H1 2023: £nil) for the acquisition of non-controlling interests and £nil (H1 2023: £443.9m) in relation to the repayment of acquired debt.

Net proceeds from disposals amounted to a £1.0m inflow (H1 2023: £8.5m outflow).

Acquisitions

The principal business combination in the period was the acquisition of Solar Media Limited. 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. See note 14 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further details.

Share Buyback

As part of the GAP 2 strategy, the Group has committed to return capital to shareholders through a share buyback programme totalling £1.56bn. During the six months to 30 June 2024, £338.9m of shares were repurchased and 39.9m shares cancelled. Cumulatively by 30 June 2024, £1,404.8m of shares had been repurchased with 206.5m shares cancelled. The shares acquired during the six months to 30 June 2024 were at an average price of 824.9p per share, with prices ranging from 726p to 871p.

Pensions

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

At 30 June 2024, the Group had a net pension surplus of £51.6m (31 December 2023: £41.7m, 30 June 2023: £49.0m), comprising pension surplus of £57.0m (31 December 2023: £48.1m, 30 June 2023: £55.8m) and pension deficits of £5.4m (31 December 2023: £6.4m, 30 June 2023: £6.8m). Gross liabilities were £453.9m at 30 June 2024 (31 December 2023: £478.2m, 30 June 2023: £448.1m). The decrease in liabilities is predominantly driven by the increase in the discount rates used for calculating the present value of the pension liability, with rates for UK schemes increasing 55 basis points from 4.60% at 31 December 2023 and decreasing 25 basis points from 5.40% at 30 June 2023 to 5.15% at 30 June 2024, in line with increased yields on benchmark high-quality corporate bonds.

 

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

We believe that the more clearly we understand risk, the better we are at delivering Informa's growth strategy.

We therefore manage risk in a way that supports the Company's long-term growth: assessing business opportunities in a risk-informed way so that we have a full and balanced picture of the risks we are choosing to take; developing and implementing effective strategies to manage those risks; and monitoring and reporting on this process and its outcomes through our established governance bodies and channels.

We continuously improve how we manage risk, increasing our maturity to help the business be more resilient and responsive. Risk management is fully embedded into our business and commercial activities across the Company.

The 2023 Informa Annual Report describes our overarching enterprise risk management framework and the four-step process we follow to oversee our principal risks and sub risks.

We performed a robust assessment of Informa's principal and emerging risks for the 2023 Annual Report, as we do every year. This assessment continues to apply and be valid, and no risks have materially changed at the Half Year. Our 12 principal risks are outlined below, and full details can be found on pages 60 to 66 of the 2023 Annual Report.

In alignment with the Trading Outlook and the strategy Informa is pursuing, described on page 4, during the first six months of 2024 we have paid particular attention to monitoring the following Principal Risks to ensure our controls, practices and response plans continue to be robust and effective: Economic Instability and Market Risk from a macro-economic perspective, Acquisition and Integration Risk, Ineffective Change Management and Reliance on Key Partnerships as part of the execution of our strategy, and Technology Failure, Data Loss and Cyber Breach and Privacy Regulation Risk in the areas of data and technology. Emerging risks, such as those relating to the impact of artificial intelligence and climate change, are monitored as sub risks of our existing Principal Risks, and as highlighted in the Trading Outlook, some emerging risks, such as artificial intelligence, present opportunities and efficiency benefits for Informa as well.

Our 12 principal risks fall into three categories: Growth and Strategy, People, and Culture. They are categorised accordingly below, and are not listed in order of magnitude.

Growth and Strategy

·      Economic instability: General economic instability, changes in geopolitics or global trading patterns, or a downturn in a particular market or region could change customers' demand for products and services.

·      Market risk: We work in a range of specialist sectors, each of which could grow, decline or change for different reasons. This could support or disrupt the needs and preferences of our customers and change the competitive environment for our products and services.

·      Acquisition and integration risk: When we add businesses to the Group, their financial performance can exceed or fall short of expectations if market conditions change or if the integration process is more or less complex or effective than foreseen.

·      Ineffective change management: Change is part of and an outcome of our growth strategy. If change is not managed effectively however, it can create operational challenges.

·      Reliance on key partnerships: We work with a range of business partners. If a significant partnership or service provision were disrupted or failed, it could affect the delivery of certain products and services and normal business activity.

·      Technology failure: A prolonged loss of critical systems, networks or similar services could disrupt business operations and the delivery of our products and services, impacting revenues, customer experience and our reputation.

·      Data loss and cyber breach: Cyber threats are evolving, and cyber attacks are increasing. A cyber breach or loss of sensitive or valuable data, content or intellectual property could create losses for our stakeholders, affect our reputation and disrupt the business.

·      Privacy regulation risk: We use data in an increasing number of ways to capture commercial opportunity and better serve customers. Using personal information is governed by privacy and data protection legislation. These are different, evolving and increasing in many of the jurisdictions we operate in.

People

·      Inability to attract and retain key talent: The loss of key talent in critical functions and inadequate succession planning for senior managers could affect our growth and business success.

·      Health and safety incidents: Incidents or mismanagement of this risk can injure our colleagues, customers or the general public, affect our reputation and lead to fines and claims for damages.

·      Inadequate response to major incidents: Major incidents - such as those caused by extreme weather, natural disasters, military action, terrorism, or major disease outbreaks such as pandemics - can affect our colleagues and customers, and disrupt our operations and events.

Culture 

·      Inadequate regulatory compliance: Colleagues and business partners who work with or on behalf of us are expected to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If we fail to comply, we could face fines or imprisonment, damage our reputation and be unable to trade in some countries.

 

Going Concern

Introduction

The Directors have completed a going concern assessment of whether the Group has adequate resources to continue in operation for at least 12 months from the signing date of these consolidated interim financial statements. In adopting the going concern basis for preparing the financial statements, the Directors have considered the future trading prospects of the Group's businesses, the Group's cash generation in H1 2024, available liquidity, debt maturities and the Group's Principal Risks as set out on the previous two pages.

Liquidity and Financing

The Group has a strong liquidity position at 30 June 2024, including £342m of cash and undrawn committed credit facilities of £893m. There are no borrowing maturities until the €700m EMTN borrowings in October 2025. The Group Revolving Credit Facility matures in February 2026. The Group is a well-established borrower with an investment grade credit rating recently upgraded by all three agencies that rate the Group's credit (Fitch, Moody's and S&P Global) which provides the Directors with confidence that the Group could further increase liquidity by raising additional debt finance. The Group has no financial covenants on any of its Group level borrowings. The €700m EMTN borrowing facility is assumed to renew in October 2025 in the financial models.  A new facility for £1,250m was obtained for the planned acquisition of Ascential plc available until July 2026.

Financial modelling

For the going concern assessment, the Directors have modelled both a Base Case with Sensitivities and a Reverse Stress Test for the period to the end of 2025. Separately, the Directors modelled both the Base Case with Sensitivities and the Reverse Stress Test including the completion of the proposed TechTarget and Ascential plc combinations in Q4 2024 together with the $350 million and £1.2 billion payments to TechTarget and Ascential plc shareholders respectively.

The following sensitivities have been modelled individually and in combination to reflect a prudent scenario for the going concern assessment and do not reflect Management expectations:

·      A pandemic risk, with no events trading from August to December 2024, and business returning to 75% of Base Case forecast revenues in H1 2025 and 90% in H2 2025.

·      A market / economic risk, where a recession reduces Live and On-demand Events revenue by 10% in 2024 H2, and revenues grow only 6% in 2025 off the sensitised 2024 outturn.

·      In the combined risk scenario, the market / economic risk is removed when the pandemic risk has been modelled (August 2024 to July 2025).

·      A reduction of Digital revenues by 10% in H2 2024 versus forecast, with 5% growth in 2025 off the sensitised 2024 outturn.

·      An assumption that Taylor & Francis Pay to Publish revenues in H2 2024 reduce by 10% versus the forecast, with 5% growth in 2025 off the sensitised 2024 outturn.

·      The cash impact of lower revenues on working capital and interest payable, together with the cash benefit of lower tax payable.

In the combined risk scenario including all the sensitivities listed above and including the proposed combinations of TechTarget and Ascential plc, the Group maintains liquidity headroom of more than £350 million. Under a scenario where the €700m EMTN borrowings maturing in October 2025 are repaid at that date, the Group is forecast to have sufficient cash reserves to maintain liquidity.   

The reverse stress test, including the proposed TechTarget and Ascential plc combinations, indicates that the Group can afford to lose 42% of its revenue from 1 August 2024 to the end of 2025 and still maintain positive liquidity headroom. This scenario assumes no action is taken to deliver indirect cost savings, that existing customer receipts are refunded, and that no further receipts are collected in the period.

Going concern basis

Based on the scenarios modelled the Directors believe that the Group is well placed to manage its financing and other business risks satisfactorily and have been able to form a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operation for at least twelve months from the signing date of these consolidated interim financial statements. The Directors therefore consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

 

Cautionary statements

This interim management report contains certain forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and actual results and events could differ materially from those currently being anticipated. The terms 'expect', 'should be', 'will be' and similar expressions (or their negative) identify forward-looking statements. Factors which may cause future outcomes to differ from those foreseen in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions and business conditions in Informa's markets; exchange rate fluctuations, customers' acceptance of its products and services; the actions of competitors; legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments; changes in law and legal interpretation affecting Informa's intellectual property rights and internet communications; and the impact of technological change.

Past performance should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of future results, and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made regarding future performance. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this interim management report and are based on numerous assumptions regarding Informa's present and future business strategies and the environment in which Informa will operate in the future. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this document to reflect any change in the Group's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based after the date of this announcement or to update or keep current any other information contained in this interim management report.

Nothing in this interim management report should be construed as a profit forecast. All persons, wherever located, should consult any additional disclosures that Informa may make in any regulatory announcements or documents which it publishes. This announcement does not constitute an invitation to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any Informa PLC shares, in the UK, or in the US, or under the US Securities Act 1933 or in any other jurisdiction.

 

Board of Directors

The Directors of Informa PLC and their biographical details can be found on the Company's website:

www.informa.com.

Responsibility Statement

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

·      the consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the United Kingdom adopted International Accounting Standard 34, "Interim Financial Reporting";

·      the consolidated interim financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with the applicable set of accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the issuer, or the undertakings included in the consolidation as a whole as required by DTR 4.2.4R;

·      the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7R, namely;

o  an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the consolidated interim financial statements; and

o  a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the financial year.

·      the interim management report includes, as required by DTR 4.2.8, a fair review of material related party transactions that have taken place in the first six months of the financial year and any material changes in the related-party transactions described in the 2023 Annual Report.

Approved by the Board on 24 July 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

 

 

Stephen A. Carter         

Chief Executive