UBM upbeat as large event growth offsets blips

UBM said it was on track to hit full year targets despite some weakness in smaller shows.

The events organiser, which hopes to conclude the sale of its PR Newswire and Agility businesses in coming weeks, said performance since the start of the year had been in line with management expectations.

Larger events continued to drive performance, most notably Game Developers Conference, MAGICVegas, Enterprise Connect, MD&M West and Hotelex/FineFoods, UBM said.

Other marketing services performed in line with expectations, and the Advanstar business continues to perform ahead of its acquisition case, while integration of the recent Business Journals acquisition is underway.

On the downside, Ecobuild revenue declined owing to the previously flagged challenges facing the UK solar industry, which has been hit by the withdrawal of government subsidies for the solar industry.

Also some smaller shows, particularly in the jewellery sector, "are seeing some weakness".

Also during the period, £17.5m was paid to Axio Data Group to settle a warranty claim from the sale of the Delta businesses in 2013.

PR Newswire continues to perform in line with expectations, with the sale to Cision remaining subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance in the US and other customary closing conditions.

Analysts at Canaccord felt the trading update was broadly reassuring.

"There was little to no detail, but this was a reassuring update. UBM's major China shows in H2 are clearly seeing bookings on track with budgets, despite the softer macro-economic backdrop.

"And the outperformance of Advanstar should off-set some pressure from its smaller events. Overall, we see nothing here to warrant any review of forecasts."