BOL posts decrease in revenues and profits in Q1

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Bangkok, 14th May: Business Online (BOL), a leading online business information service provider in Thailand, also reported its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2024. The company recorded revenues of US$5.0 million for the quarter, representing a decrease of 3.9% year-on-year.

BOL’s net profits for the three-month period dropped 4.2% to US$1.8 million. Diluted earnings per share in the first quarter of 2024 were Baht 0.08 (US$0.0022).

Quick takes

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Penang adding capacity, but space still tight

It has been a busy week with quite a few noteworthy announcements coming out of IMEX in Frankfurt. Penang has added capacity with its large-scale venue, the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre (PWCC) which will open next spring, but its CVB CEO said at IMEX space for business events could still run out in the next two years.

Singapore commits to carbon neutral events

At IMEX Frankfurt, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched a toolkit to achieve more sustainable business events. The STB is aiming for carbon neutral participation at international tradeshows. This is the first time STB has committed to holding itself accountable to carbon neutral standards.

RX appoints new GM of RX India

International exhibition organiser, RX Global, has appointed Umang Gupta as the Country General Manager for RX India. He was previously the Marketing Director for Elsevier in India & Southeast Asia. In the new role, he will focus on expanding RX’s events portfolio in India.

Hong Kong to host Routes World 2025

AsiaWorld-Expo will host Informa Markets’ Routes World 2025. The event will attract 3,000 delegates from airlines and airports. It features industry executives, heads of air-network planning and other participants from more than 260 of the world’s leading airlines. The 30th edition of Routes World is scheduled to be held from 24th to 26th September 2025 when Hong Kong’s third runway will be operational.

RX acquires energy conferences

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London, 8th May: RX Global, a leading international exhibition organiser, announced this week that it has acquired Sustainable Energy Conferences Limited (SEC), the owner and organiser of the World Hydrogen Summit, Hydrogen Americas, Hydrogen Asia-Pacific and the Sustainable Energy Council brand. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. After the acquisition, the SEC team will join RX.

SEC is focused on the green energy, low carbon sector covering everything from production to transmission to distribution and storage of hydrogen.

Informa’s positive market update

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London, 8th May: Earlier this week, London listed Informa PLC released its latest trading update, key appointments as well as progress on its TechTarget integration.

According to the company, all of its business segments are performing to the upper end market guidance on revenues, adjusted operating profit and free cash flow. During the first four months of the year, the revenue growth across its B2B Markets (Informa Markets, Informa Connect and Informa Tech) and Academic Markets are performing well.

Netsun’s revenues up, but profits down in FY2023

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Hangzhou, 27th April: Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Netsun announced its results for the year ended 31st December 2023, with revenues of US$61 million. This represents modest year-on-year growth of 2.1%. Netsun’s exhibition service revenues were the key growth driver.

Net profits, however, dropped 16% year-on-year, down to US$2.7 million. The decrease in profit was mainly due to rising costs. Diluted earnings per share in 2023 were RMB 0.08 (US$0.011).

Arinex buys business events agency

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Australia, 9th May: Australasian event management company, Arinex, expanded its New Zealand footprint by acquiring Auaha, a New Zealand-based business events agency. Auaha is a New Zealand business events agency and PCO. The acquisition will enable Arinex to expand its market presence and to the New Zealand MICE industry.

Nicole Walker, CEO of Arinex, commented, “This acquisition aligns with our dedication to driving innovation and delivering exceptional value to our clients. By integrating the expertise, Māori cultural competency and insights of Auaha, Arinex aims to deliver an enhanced value proposition and unparalleled event management solutions to its clients across Australasia.”

Quick takes

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DLG’s revenues jump 229% in Q1

Shanghai-listed DLG Exhibitions (formerly Shanghai Lansheng) released its results for the quarter ended 31st March 2024, with revenues of US$24 million. This represents a year-on-year increase of 229%. The company posted a loss of US$752,000.

Canton Fair’s visitor profile is changing

A record 246,000 international visitors attended the Canton Fair. That is up 25% compared to the 2023 autumn edition. Two thirds of the visitors were from countries that support China’s Belt and Road programme. Just 50,000 were from the U.S. and Europe.

Alibaba’s new CEO has a new plan

The Economist has an interesting take on Alibaba’s future. Former CEO’s Daniel Zhang’s plan to break-up the giant was aimed at pleasing regulators. Eddie Wu, new CEO, company co-founder and one Jack Ma’s closest lieutenants, is pulling it all back together to compete with PDD, JD.com, Shien and Temu.

Hong Kong says good-bye to a venue

Despite its name, the Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Centre (KITEC) was more of a small concert venue. After 28 years, KITEC will be redeveloped as an office building. The SCMP sums it up.

Nineteen Group expands into Singapore

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Singapore, 30th April: Nineteen Group, a U.K.-based exhibition organiser, announced plans to expand its portfolio to Asia by launching the Safety & Security Event Series, and the Emergency Services Show in Singapore. The company will also open an office in Singapore to support its new events.

Safety & Security Asia will include The Security Event, The Fire Safety Event, The Health & Safety Event, and The Emergency Services Show – all of which will collectively target the safety and security industry across the region. The inaugural edition will run from 11th to 13th November 2025 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Made-in-China.com’s revenues up 11% in Q1

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Nanjing, 26th April: Focus Technology, the operator of Made-in-China.com which is a B2B sourcing platform, has reported revenues of US$47 million in the quarter ended 31st March 2024. This is an 11% increase compared with the first quarter of 2023.

The company’s net profit jumped 58% in the quarter, reaching US$9.4 million in the quarter. Diluted earnings per share in the three-month period were RMB 0.2422 (US$0.0297). The company’s management did not provide any comment on its performance in the quarter.

GL events’ exhibition-related revenues down 11%

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Lyon, 24th April: Last week, GL events released its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2024. Revenues at GL events Exhibitions business were €99.8 million (US$108 million), down 11% compared with the same figure in the first quarter of 2023. The company’s management attributed the decrease in its exhibitions’ revenue largely due to the unfavourable effect of biennial events.

Overall, GL events’ group revenues increased by 10% in the quarter, reaching €386 million (US$417 million). Other than the fall in exhibition-related revenues, the other two key business segments performed well. GL events Live generated €192 million (US$208 million), up 28% year-on-year. While GL events Venues posted revenues of €92.4 million (US$100 million), growth of 7.1%.

IEG’s revenues up 32% in 2023

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Italy, 30th April: Shareholders of Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) approved the company’s financial statements as at 31st December 2023. The company generated revenues of €212 million (US$235 million) in the 2023 financial year, which is a year-on-year growth of 32%. The company also posted a profit of €14.2 million (US$15.6 million) in the year.

In 2023, IEG’s Asian subsidiary, IEG Asia, generated revenues of €1.99 million (US$2.2 million) and recorded a loss of €656,000 (US$725,000) in the year. IEG’s business in Asia is a new one. The Singapore office of IEG Asia open in 2022. It small, but growing portfolio in Asia covers food & beverage, jewellery, and green energy.

Quick takes

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UFI and IAEE sign MoU

UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), have signed and MoU which “re-establishes a regular exchange between the associations benefitting their respective members, while also promoting the industry at large. Both partners agree on the value of collaborating on common initiatives, exchanging information and supporting industry developments.” The two associations already collaborate on initiatives such as Global Exhibitions Day (GED) and long-running events such as the China Expo Forum for International Cooperation (CEFCO).

Mark Temple-Smith joins CloserStill

Industry veteran, Mark Temple-Smith has announced that he will be joining CloserStill Media as Group Managing Director as well as a member of the Group Executive Board. Mark has previously held senior positions at Informa Markets, Tarsus, ITE Group and Canon Communications.

ASM Global extents contract to operate ICC Sydney

ASM Global, an event and venue management company, has signed a deal to manage and operate International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) for an additional ten years. Since opening in December 2016, ICC Sydney has hosted more than 500 events, welcoming some 500,000 international visitors as well as almost six million domestic visitors.

60,000+ buyers at HKTDC gifts series of events

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has concluded its gifts, printing and packaging, and licensing events. The trade shows attracted over 60,000 buyers from 128 countries and regions. According to the HKTDC, buyers from outside Hong Kong were from Mainland China, Taiwan, U.S., Japan and Korea.

Hong Kong’s surprisingly healthy hotels

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Hong Kong, 11th April: Despite so much the concern about Hong Kong’s future and a weak post-COVID economy, its hotels appear to be performing surprisingly well. According to the Hong Kong Hotels Association (HKHA), the industry is still recovery, but in 2023, Hong Kong’s average room occupancy was 82%. That is quite impressive, especially given that 2018 was an all-time record high at 91% in 2018. Moreover, during the 2024 Lunar New Year holiday, Hong Kong’s average hotel occupancy rate was 93% which is about the same level as the 2019 Lunar New Year holiday.

High-end hotels performed better than the mid-range and budget categories due to the changing travel pattern of Chinese visitors and unfortunately, the government announced in its 2024-25 budget, the 3% hotel accommodation tax will return from 1st January 2025. The HKHA worries this could dampen performance, but that is unlikely to affect to mid- to high-end hotels.

RELX expects strong growth in 2024

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London, 25th April: Yesterday, London-listed RELX Group plc released its latest trading update, and management reaffirmed the outlook for the full year.

Its exhibitions business, which accounted for 12% of the company’s revenue in 2023, the group is expected to deliver strong underlying revenue growth this year. Management highlighted increased “face-to-face activity” across all of the group’s key geographies. In addition, growth will also be supported by the rising use of a “growing range of value-enhancing digital tools.”

Meorient’s profit jumps nearly 350% in Q1

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Hangzhou, 26th April: Shenzhen-listed exhibition organiser, Meorient released its results for the quarter ended 31st March 2024. Meorient organises trade shows that aim to bring Chinese businesses overseas – particularly to emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and South America.

Meorient generated revenues of US$11 million, an increase of 12% year-on-year. The company’s profit in the quarter jumped 349%, compared with the same quarter last year, reaching US$667,000. Diluted earnings per share in the three-month period were RMB 0.03 (US$0.0042). The company’s management did not comment on the growth drivers or the company’s outlook for the rest of the year.

Quick takes

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JEGI outlines AI’s impact on exhibitions

JEGI, a boutique investment bank, has released a 25-page white paper on the coming impact of AI on a number of industries including exhibitions. Areas of change: lead generation, task automation and tailored event experiences. See page 16.

Newsletters are alive and thriving?

The newsletter, the dinosaur of marketing tools, is surprisingly and persistently effective. It is not all good news, but DigiDay offers this fascinating article on just how cheap and effective newsletters can be.

Beijing continues to push Hainan as free trade zone

For years, Beijing has been promoting Hainan Island as a duty-free shopping and free trade zone. According to the Exhibition World article, it might be working as reflected in its consumer products exhibition which featured 4,000 brands spread across 128,000 m2, according to the government organiser.

UFI MEA Conference goes to Kigali

UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, organised its UFI Middle East & Africa Conference to Rwanda earlier this month. Hosted by the Rwanda Convention Bureau at the Kigali Convention Centre, the event was held from 15th to 17th April, bringing together attendees from 15 countries.