9 December 2011

Messe Frankfurt exceeds its own sales forecasts in 2011, reaching a new high of €457 million

Stable profitability and healthy growth in Germany and abroad

Group sales to top €500 million for the first time ever in 2012

In 2011, Messe Frankfurt remains one of the most consistently successful trade fair companies in the world. On presenting the Group’s preliminary key figures for 2011, Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Messe Frankfurt, stressed: “We expect to generate sales of around €457 million – the highest ever in the history of our company”. With this result, Messe Frankfurt will exceed its own forecasts for financial year 2011.

“Independent of event cycles, we are increasing our sales every year and remaining consistently profitable”, continued Marzin. With €128.3 million, the Group’s operating business outside Germany generated further growth, also setting a new record. Foreign business now accounts for 28 percent of overall sales. Consolidated profit before tax continues to be stable, and is expected to be in the region of €30 million. This figure already takes into account depreciation and principal repayments, for example in connection with the new Hall 11.

Healthy growth in Germany and abroad

Marzin explained the Group’s strategic orientation as follows: “We are not only growing in tandem with the global economy in our activities outside Germany, but are also generating growth with new and existing events in Frankfurt”. In order to safeguard and expand Messe Frankfurt's core business at its headquarters, a total of four new Group events were established this year. At the same time, the Group intensified and expanded its successful cooperation with guest events. For instance, it signed a contract with British trade fair organiser UBM Live for a series of further large-scale trade fairs in
Frankfurt until 2021. The contract with the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) for hosting IAA Cars was recently renewed until 2019. In addition, the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PSSEC), the leading platform for the photovoltaic sector, will be held on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds in 2012. And with “Land & Genuss”, an event organised by the German Agricultural Society (DLG), another trade fair for the general public has been added to Messe Frankfurt's portfolio.

Marzin: “Frankfurt is a strong base for our Group, and our well-established flagship fairs provide us with essential stability. From here, we export our trade fair brands to carefully selected regions of the global market – with excellent growth potential for our customers.” A total of 25 new trade fairs have been scheduled for the current and the coming financial year. The key to this development is a unique brand and globalisation strategy which remained a point of focus over the past year as part of the Group’s strategic reorganisation at its Frankfurt headquarters.

Messe Frankfurt aims to continue expanding its portfolio, both with its own events and by joining forces with strong partners. A prime example of this is the recent purchase of the Interlight event in Moscow. Messe Frankfurt acquired Interlight – the leading Russian trade fair for decorative lighting, technical lighting and building automation – from previous organiser OWP Ost-West-Partner GmbH.

In the reporting year, the Group organised a total of 101 trade fairs and exhibitions worldwide. These were attended by more than 3.3 million visitors and featured over 67,000 exhibitors.

In 2011, a comparatively weak year on the event cycle, 31 trade fairs and exhibitions took place in Frankfurt, of which 14 were organised by the Messe Frankfurt Group itself, with almost 19,000 exhibitors and some 745,000 visitors.

Outlook for 2012: Substantial sales growth expected once again

In 2012, Messe Frankfurt aims to continue its growth with new developments, growing events and streamlined company structures. “We want to pass the €500 million sales mark”, stressed Marzin. Advance bookings are extremely encouraging for 2012 – a year with a strong event calendar – including four major flagship fairs: Light+Building, Automechanika, Texcare and Achema. At the same time, Messe Frankfurt is responding to the growing importance of digital media: as of January 2012, it will be the first German trade fair venue to offer free wireless internet access to visitors at its own events. Marzin: “We see this as a modern service that will soon establish itself as an international standard”.

Messe Frankfurt's President and CEO is confident that the company's medium-term growth will be driven not only by new events, but also by its new congress centre in the Europaviertel district, which will be completed in autumn 2013 with a view to meeting the steadily rising demand for conference and congress facilities. Furthermore, Messe Frankfurt has been commissioned by the German Ministry of Economics to organise the German pavilion at Expo 2015 in Milan.

Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s largest trade fair organiser, with 457 million* euros in sales and 1,769* employees worldwide. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international Sales Partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events “made by Messe Frankfurt” take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2011, Messe Frankfurt organised 101 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany.
Comprising an area of 578,000 square metres, Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds are currently home to ten exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Center. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent.
For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
* Preliminary figures (2011)