Informa Share Price Fell 4.3% on FY23 Trading Update and Merger

The Informa PLC (LON: INF) share price fell 4.18% after releasing its full-year trading update for the 2023 fiscal year. The company expects to report 2023 revenue growth of 30% to £3,165m+, with adjusted operating profits of £845m and free cash flow of £600m+. 

The international B2B Digital Services, B2B Events, and Academic Markets Group also revealed that it is confident in its prospects for 2024, and it expects to generate revenues worth £3,425m to £3,475m and adjusted operating profit of £945m tp £965m (excluding any effects of its proposed merger with TechTarget). 

The growth drivers for 2024 include its international reach as evidenced by its strength in the United States and the rapidly growing economies of China, the Middle East and Asia. The company is also betting on its structural growth from its specialist knowledge and Live and on-demand B2B Events. 

The company has also identified the rapid growth witnessed in high-growth B2B markets such as technology, healthcare, pharma, aviation, beauty and health & nutrition. The firm also highlighted its disciplined balance sheet as a critical pillar of its growth strategy, as it has a leverage ratio 1.4x. 

Informa also highlighted its strong culture of shareholder returns, having returned £1.06bn of the £1.15bn current Share Buyback Programme and declaring a final dividend of 18p, translating into an 80% increase compared to last year. 

The company also noted the power of its B2B events, its major live & on-demand brands rich in specialist B2B content, and its digital services that have driven volume and value growth across the company’s Informa Connect, Informa Markets and Informa Tech brands. 

The B2B events growth trajectory led to an aggregated underlying revenue growth of 40%, targeting high single-digit revenue growth in 2024. 

Informa also announced combining its Informa tech brand with the US brand TechTarget via a majority share ownership model that will see it control the enlarged entity. 

Informa Tech's digital businesses Omdia (including Canalys), Industry Dive, NetLine and its Digital Media Brands will merge with US-listed TechTarget to become New TechTarget, a market-leading platform with annual sales worth $500m. 

Informa share price. 

The Informa plc share price fell 4.28% to trade at 752.30p from Wednesday’s closing price of 785.90p.