UBM has reported that strong growth from its first edition of Ecobuild, its Game Developers Conference, Sign China and Enterprise Connect have helped boost profits for the first quarter of the year.
 
The inaugural Ecobuild show under UBM’s ownership held at Excel London on 20-22 March had more than 1,500 exhibitors and 57,000 attendees.
 
Unaudited results for the three months to 31 March 2012 showed events revenue rose 46 per cent to £123.1m compared to the same period in 2011, while adjusted operating profit rose 53 per cent to £42.4m.

The company said it expected underlying growth for its events organising business to be between 10 to 12 per cent.

Overall operating profit rose 26 per cent to £56.1m while total revenue grew 11 per cent to £264.2m.

"Although conditions in a number of our markets remain challenging, and year-on-year comparisons will get tougher as the year progresses, the business is performing well and we maintain our consolidated guidance for 2012," said UBM chief executive officer David Levin.

The firm completed several acquisitions in the first quarter including the Malaysian International Furniture Fair, the China International Exhibition and Symposium on Dental Equipment, Technology and Products, and 4G World, an independent telecoms and wireless event serving the US market.

UBM's consolidated net debt stood at £502.0m as at 31 March, down from £526.4m at the end of 2011.
 
Got a story for Exhibition News? Email us: exhibitionnews@mashmedia.net