Informa hit by delegate drop-off

SHARES in publisher and conference organiser Informa touched a low of 120p today before recovering to show a fall of 6p at 156 1/2p after it said that poor attendance at its events would knock £2m off profits in September and October.

Informa said advertising revenues, which account for 11% of total group turnover, had fallen by 25% in September and by about 15% in October. Only 600 delegates went to its UMTS (mobile telephony) conference in Barcelona in the middle of October. That was about half what the market had been expecting. Although revenue from sponsorship and exhibitors at the event was 40% higher, profits would be half those achieved in 2000.

Informa's largest conference is the 3GSM (also mobile phones) World Congress in Cannes every February. This year was the biggest so far, attracting 7500 registered delegates and 15,000 visitors.

The company said it had already booked more revenue for next year's event than this from exhibitors and sponsors, but added that it thought a turnout of 5000 delegates would be very good.