Pico Far East’s profit up 40% in FY2023

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Hong Kong, 23rd January: Hong Kong-listed Pico Far East Holdings reported its annual results for the year ended 31st October 2023. The company posted revenues of US$681 million, up 17% year-on-year. Pico’s net profit jumped 40% during the year, reaching US$29 million. Diluted earnings per share for the year were HK$0.1839 (US$0.024).

More than 82% of Pico’s revenues (US$564 million) were generated from its exhibition, event & brand activation business, representing year-on-year growth of 20%. Other revenue streams were generated from museum & themed environments (US$51 million), visual branding activation (US$49 million), and meeting architecture activation (US$17 million).

Messe Düsseldorf posts a strong performance in 2023

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Düsseldorf, 24th January: International exhibition organiser, Messe Düsseldorf, released its preliminary financial results for the year 2023. Messe Düsseldorf Group sales were €410 million (US$453 million), up 32% year-on-year. While Messe Düsseldorf GmbH’s turnover grew 32%, amounting to €388 million (US$428 million).

During the year, Messe Düsseldorf’s own venues hosted 27 events, featuring some 27,000 exhibiting companies. About 1.1 million attendees visited these events.

UNWTO: international tourism fully recovers in 2024

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Asia, 22nd January: According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism will fully recover by the end of 2024.

By the end of 2023, international tourism was at 88% of pre-pandemic levels, representing 1.3 billion international arrivals.

In terms of geography, the Middle East was 22% above the 2019 level, while Europe was at 94% of 2019 levels. Africa and the America posted 96% and 90% of their 2019 levels, respectively. In Asia and the Pacific, South Asia recovered to 87% of 2019 levels, and North-east Asia reached about 55% of 2019 levels.

Messe Düsseldorf and Deutsche Messe form joint venture in Turkey

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Ankara, 24th January: Two leading trade fair companies in Germany, Messe Düsseldorf and Deutsche Messe AG, will jointly expand their market to Turkey through a 50%/50% joint venture named “Hannover Messe Ankiros Fuarcılık A.S.”

Under the joint venture, the two companies will expand ANKIROS/TURKCAST and ALUEXPO. ANKIROS/TURKCAST is one of the world’s most important trade fairs for the metallurgy and foundry industries, and ALUEXPO is the leading aluminium trade fair for the Eurasian region.

Quick takes

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Tesla vehicles barred from entering government venues in China

Ongoing tensions and concerns about data security between Beijing and Washington have led to Tesla cars being restricted from entering premises operated by government affiliates, local authority agencies, highway operators and even cultural and exhibition centres in China. Previously, such restrictions were generally limited to military bases.

Perth unveils plans to redevelop waterfront precinct

The Western Australian Government has entered negotiations to redevelop the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (PCEC), unveiling new plans to refresh the waterfront precinct. The proposal would create an iconic precinct on the Swan River, with a world-class convention space designed to attract major business events – as well as create a new tourism and hospitality hub for Perth.

JEGI Clarity reports increase in Corporate vs Private Equity transactions

M&A advisory firm JEGI Clarity released its Transaction Update for 2023, noting over 20 M&A transactions completed during the previous calendar year. Of these, 60% were founder sales, 25% were corporate divestitures and 15% were private equity exits. By sector, Marketing Services and Technology accounted for 25% of transactions, followed by Digital Media and Content (20%), Software (20%), Technology and Consulting (20%), B2B Information and Events (10%) and Insights, Data and Analytics (5%).

Digital Agencies’ roles changing to adapt to generative AI

Generative AI is blurring the lines between different types of marketing, leading Forrester Research to predict a sea-change in pure-play digital agencies as they adapt to the reality of digital sameness and commoditisation. As the landscape continues to evolve, agency services most at risk are routine, repetitive tasks such as basic content creation, data analysis and campaign optimisation.