Informa Plc to deliver adjusted operating profit of up to £1bn, increases full year guidance

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Informa Plc (LON:INF), the international B2B Events, B2B Digital Services and Academic Markets Group has 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.

Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive, Informa PLC, said:

“As the world digitises at pace, our brands, our content and our market positions are becoming more valuable. This is moving Informa into a faster growth lane for performance, expansion and returns, as demonstrated by our full year target of up to £1bn of adjusted operating profit and today’s recommended 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;

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· 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;

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· 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.