N?rnbergMesse focuses on record revenue in 2012

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2011 outdoes comparable year 2009 with a 30 per cent rise in revenue
Joint Managing Directors Fleck and Ottmann aiming for positive result in the double business year 2011/2012
Events in 2012 show higher figures despite ambivalent world economic situation
N?rnbergMesse completed the second best year in the company’s history in 2011, but a look at the current year shows that the past year will not hold its newly acquired status for long. “In all probability, 2012 will outshine 2010, the top year so far. We expect revenue in excess of 210 million euros and profit in the single-figure million range,” say Dr. Roland Fleck and Peter Ottmann, the Managing Directors of N?rnbergMesse.

“2011, a weaker year* in terms of events, shows final revenue of 173 million euros with a net loss of 5.5 million euros for the financial year. The revenue of the private limited company (GmbH) exceeds the originally planned figures by eight per cent. The net loss for the financial year is even a third better than planned,” explains Dr. Roland Fleck, Managing Director responsible for finance. “The good result in 2011 was due mainly to the steady to slightly improving development of the sold display space and the additional services offered, but also to the positive development of the international subsidiaries. For example, the sold space in the group in 2011 was 767,000 m?, which was booked by 25,808 exhibitors,” says Peter Ottmann, Managing Director responsible for marketing.

Altogether 1.11 million visitors attended the 172 exhibitions, congresses, public events and company events in the portfolio of the N?rnbergMesse Group. N?rnbergMesse Brasil, which N?rnbergMesse had only acquired in 2009, contributed to the result for the first time with more than 10 million euros revenue.

Personnel as strategic success factor
To cope with this development, skilled staff and exhibition experts are needed for improving existing exhibitions and creating new events in N?rnberg and worldwide. The staffing level was therefore increased in 2011 in order to maintain the high quality of the existing exhibitions in the portfolio. Moreover, mesomondo was added as another exhibition construction service provider besides Holtmann.

The average number of persons employed in the N?rnbergMesse Group in 2011 was 492 (2010: 442), including 39 apprentices, eleven dual learning (sandwich) degree students and six trainees. The average age of employees at N?rnbergMesse is approx. 37 years. The average period of employment of more than 8 years is higher than the average for the service sector and provides the vital specialist knowledge.

Advantages and disadvantages on the forecasting horizon
Whereas the International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks of “worrying aspects” regarding the future development of the world economy, the figures for the first half of 2012 and the bookings for the exhibitions and events in the second half-year in N?rnberg give no grounds for concern so far. The growth of the sold display space in N?rnberg in the first half of 2012 is five times larger than the growth for the whole German exhibition market (N?rnberg +5 %; Germany +1 %). The figures for exhibitors are also in the positive range, although lower than the German average (N?rnberg +1 %; Germany +3 %). Only the number of visitors declined in the first half-year (N?rnberg -2 %; Germany +1 %).

Record result foreseeable
The Managing Directors also expect good results for the second half of 2012. “We are in the middle of the strongest event year in the history of N?rnbergMesse. Except for POWTECH/TechnoPharm, all the large exhibitions take place as scheduled, none of them take a break,” say the two Managing Directors, Dr. Fleck and Ottmann, explaining the foreseeable record result. Three out of four of the large international exhibitions that take place in N?rnberg in the autumn will grow, some of them even by two-figure amounts. The N?rnbergConvention Center is also well loaded due to new congresses and meetings. Examples of the new events include the German–Russian Raw Materials Conference and the CIHA Congress of the International Committee of Art History, which ended in mid July.

The N?rnbergMesse Group’s calendar for 2012 contains a total of some 210 events. These include more than 60 exhibitions and trade shows, more than 120 congresses, public events or company events, and more than 30 federal and state contracts for pavilions organized by N?rnbergMesse in booming economic regions like Brazil, Russia, China and India.

Besides two new exhibitions in N?rnberg – Enforce Tac and RemaDays – this year’s portfolio is extended mainly by new international events. Four new exhibitions at once on three continents cover the spectrum from beverage technology (InterBev, USA) and the pet industry (Mexico Pet Expo, Mexico, and PET Rio VET, Brazil) to the automotive industry (FISITA, China).

Medium-term outlook
“We are, of course, currently observing development for the business years 2013 and 2014 very closely. Here we notice increased signs of scepticism from the industry on the one hand, but current financial policy decisions are at least contributing towards stabilizing economic development on the other hand. However, I make no secret of the fact that I am extremely concerned about the medium and long-term impact of aspects such as the new possibility for bank recapitalization from the ESM crisis fund,” says Managing Director Dr. Roland Fleck.

About the N?rnbergMesse Group
N?rnbergMesse is one of the 20 largest exhibition companies in the world and among the Top Ten in Europe.The portfolio covers some 120 national and international exhibitions and congresses and approx. 40 sponsored pavilions at the N?rnberg location and worldwide.Every year, around 30,000 exhibitors (international share: 37 %) and up to 1.4 million visitors (international share of trade visitors: 21 %) participate in the own, partner and guest events of the N?rnbergMesse Group, which is present with subsidiaries in China, North America, Brazil and Italy.The group also has a network of 46 representatives operating in 97 countries.

*Some of the exhibitions at N?rnbergMesse take place every two years, which means the even years always have more events than the odd years.