Ascential in line for high-growth from acquisitions

B2B events and information group Ascential announced, in a trading update 4 December, that it is trading in line with market expectations. The company said full-year revenue was expected above consensus driven by recent ‘high growth’ acquisitions. Following the completion of its two editions in the second half, the Money20/20 congress is expected to grow by 37% for the full year with the US edition delivering revenues of £29.4m (US$37.46m) against the 2017 figure of £28.2m and the launch edition of China delivering revenues of approximately £2.5m. As a result, the total revenue for the company for the year ended 31 December 2018 is expected to be in the range of £345m to £349m. Ascential said it expected to deliver organic constant currency growth of between 9% and 10% for 2018. Adjusted earnings (EBITDA) was expected to be in the range of £101m to £103m. In a statement in London, Duncan Painter (pictured), CEO, and Mandy Gradden, CFO, outlined what they said was significant progress in 2018 to deliver on their strategy for 2019 and beyond. “Our strategy and focus on the digital economy continues to deliver good growth amplified by recent high growth acquisitions.” The statement added: “We have continued to invest to support future growth. This includes within our Edge brands, in the launch of Money20/20 China and in positioning Cannes Lions and MediaLink to return to growth in 2019.” In July 2018, the Company completed the disposal of its Exhibitions business to ITE for £300m and announced its intention to report 2018 results on the basis of its new operating segments, namely: Product Design, Marketing, Sales, and Built Environment & Policy. Ahead of the announcement of its 2018 annual results on 25 February 2019, Ascential was issuing summary financial information restated for this new segmental disclosure for the comparative 12-month period ended 31 December 2017 and six-month periods ended 30 June 2018 and 2017, which has not previously been in the public domain. Ascential also powers political, construction and environmental intelligence brands DeHavilland, Glenigan and Groundsure.