Easyfairs announces 19% increase in revenues; EBITDA up 25%
“All lights are green” for leading events organiser
Brussels, 7 November 2023: Easyfairs has announced its results for the financial year 2022-23.
They show further growth after the rebound from the pandemic, which brought virtually the entire European events industry to a halt. Easyfairs 2022-23 revenues grew to €193.8 million, an increase of 19% on the previous year. Recurring EBITDA hit €35.6 million, an increase of 25% on 2021-22. The results see Easyfairs moving up to number 11 in the Stax Top 20 ranking of world exhibition organisers by 2022 revenues.
Commenting on the results, Easyfairs Chief Financial Officer Marc Hellemans said, “We have more than weathered the storm of Covid. We’ve emerged stronger than ever. We have achieved more than 15% organic growth through a mix of volume recovery and launches. In March we fully refinanced all bank debt until the end of 2027, strengthening our liquidity position with pre-Covid terms, putting us in an excellent position to develop new and future activities.”
The results also underline how resilient the events industry has proved to be. “The more the world goes digital, the more value people place on the ability to meet face to face. We offer real-life social media!” commented Easyfairs Group CEO Anne Lafère. “Easyfairs is a clear post-Covid winner within the industry based on the steepness of the rebound not only in financial results but also in the number of exhibitors and visitors and customer satisfaction.”
Reflecting on two consecutive record years, Matt Benyon, who shares Group CEO responsibilities with Lafère, commented, “Our results were further strengthened by a 9% layer of revenues generated by events launched over the past two years. We also successfully enlarged our portfolio of trade shows with Coiltech, Kuteno and KPA, all three of them perfectly aligned with the Easyfairs brand, and now the market is back stronger than ever.”
Artificial Intelligence Roadmap
Easyfairs is adapting to current and future trends. Anne Lafère commented: “The rise of artificial intelligence is transforming our own industry, as well as the sectors and professional communities we serve. We’re currently working on our AI value creation roadmap. It has great potential on the one hand to increase the efficiency and job satisfaction of our talents, and on the other, to enhance the experience of all participants at our events and venues. We are convinced that AI will further boost existing revenues and generate entirely new revenue streams.”
Acting For The Future
Easyfairs also reported on the progress it is making on sustainability and the green agenda, with the aim of halving emissions by 2030 and becoming fully net zero by 2050. “We are currently finalising our second carbon footprint calculations and we can already see the impact of the measures we are taking in terms of energy, travel and accommodation, logistics, production and waste, and food waste,” Lafère commented.
Nurturing The Talent Pool
Benyon and Lafère underline the importance of acquiring, developing and retaining talent to Easyfairs’ ongoing success. “In our last financial year we won the UFI HR Award for innovative recruitment and retention strategies and we added Great Place to Work labels for Switzerland and Germany. Our high eNPS score shows the engagement of our 800 talents across Europe,” Benyon concluded.
For further information, please contact:
Marie Ost
Group Communication & Marketing Executive
[email protected]