Gratifying start to 2006: Messe Frankfurt has its sights set on 400 million

Gratifying start to 2006: Messe Frankfurt has its sights set on 400 million Following a good start to the new 2006 financial year, Messe Frankfurt plans to set an all-time record. “For the first time in our history, we want to crack the 400 million mark and expand our position as the second-largest trade fair enterprise in the world,” announced Michael von Zitzewitz, Chairman of the Board of Management. “And we want to produce satisfactory results again – results that permit us to distribute profits to our shareholders instead of receiving subsidies like some others do. We are focusing completely on our own strength, our strong main fairs in Frankfurt and continuing growth of foreign business.” So Messe Frankfurt plans to continue its successful development unchecked. In the 2005 financial year, the company already clocked up a new top level of sales of 379 million euros (364 million euros in 2004). “The renewed sales increase of four per cent was primarily generated by our subsidiaries abroad,” von Zitzewitz explained. Standing at a total of 89 million euros, which constitutes 24 per cent of group sales, foreign business has far more than doubled since 2001. Improvement in results again by 21 per cent Group results before tax rose by 21 per cent to 40.7 million euros (33.7 million euros in 2004), due to both higher sales revenue and lower depreciation. The EBITDA operating results (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization), which are the benchmark for earning power, stood at 88 million and were thus below those of the previous year due to lower depreciation (95.2 million euros in 2004). Nevertheless, this is the second-best EBITDA figure in the history of Messe Frankfurt. In 2005, Group net income was more than 22 million euros. For the third time in a row, 13 million euros are being paid out to shareholders. With a cash flow of 67 million euros, Messe Frankfurt was again able to fund its investment expenditure from its own resources in the reporting year. Impressive event programme at home and abroad with high international participation In 2005, the Messe Frankfurt Group staged 117 fairs and exhibitions world-wide (109 in 2004), more than ever before in the company’s history. 219 congresses and events were also held. Altogether, there were more than 60,000 exhibitors (57,700 in 2004) and some 3.9 million visitors (2.8 million in 2004). 41 fairs were held in Frankfurt, including 22 events organised by the Group itself with some 23,000 exhibitors and 832,000 visitors. Net rented space totalled 960,000 square metres. Although these three parameters are below those of 2004, this is due to the fact that Automechanika, one of the largest Group events, is only held every two years and did not take place in 2005. Related to the comparable year of 2003, there was a rise of about one per cent in exhibitors and visitors and in net rented space. The degree of international participation, which is a trademark of the Group’s own events, was again significantly above the German average in 2005. For exhibitors, it was 67 per cent and 33 per cent for visitors and has thus remained almost unchanged from the previous year. With a total of 68 fairs (as compared with 59 in 2004), foreign business developed further and twelve new fairs were launched in America, Europe and Asia. There were 19,000 exhibitors and more than 915,000 visitors. So Messe Frankfurt again organised significantly more fairs of its own abroad than in Germany. 2006 financial year starts with rise in exhibitors and visitors So far, there are twelve new foreign fairs on the agenda for 2006 and 2007. For example, the Eco Expo Asia will be launched in Hong Kong in October 2006, as the first environment fair in China. After a pilot phase, reorganisation of Sales is to be implemented internationally in the second half of the year. “This is an important step towards boosting our clout in world-wide competition,” said the Chairman of the Frankfurt fair company. By the end of the year, the Productpilot internet portal introduced at the beginning of the year aims to have achieved a database size of 25,000 exhibitors and five million visits. Thus it is well on the way to winning a leading position on the rapidly growing market of business search engines. The successful “Messe Frankfurt against copying” programme met with a very appreciative response from exhibitors at the Frankfurt fairs and is scheduled to be established on an international basis in the second half of the year. For further information, please click the link below: Company: Messe Frankfurt GmbH Date: 17/07/2006