Revenue down at Informa

Specialist business publisher and events organiser Informa said revenue was down across the first nine months of the year but it was trading in line with expectations.

In a trading update the firm said nine month organic revenue was down 2% on the previous year due to the effects of the tough trading environment.

However, the company said the visibility and resilience of its cashflow remained strong and it was on track to report another year of 100% cash conversion.

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This should leave Informa's leverage ratio well within its target range of 2.0 to 2.5x net debt to EBITDA, even after recent bolt-on activity, the firm said.

The company said total revenue in its Academic Information business was up 5.5% over there period, with like-for-like revenue up 2.2%.

Professional and Commercial Information was hit by tough trading and asset sales, with revenues dropping 4.7%.

Its Events and Training arm was down 2.6% after nine months, with small conferences in Europe hit hardest.

The company put the weakness in corporate training down to a lack of corporate confidence, particularly in the US, where the Presidential election was further discouraging companies from committing to new projects in the short-term.

It also noted that a recent strengthening of Sterling against the US Dollar and the Euro was unhelpful to its reported financial results as most of its earnings were made overseas.

However, Informa said the current environment meant it could pick up high quality assets relatively cheaply.

"We are well placed, both strategically and financially, to capitalise on this trend through selective bolt-on acquisitions," the firm said.

"While these are likely to continue to be relatively small-scale, the pipeline is healthy."