ITE Group half-year profit slips 15%

Moscow: Corporate event planner ITE Group reported a 15 per cent fall in first-half profit, hurt by rising overhead costs and the absence of two key biennial events in Russia.

Headline pretax profit fell to £11.1 million (Dh61.83 million) in the six months ended March 31, from £13.1 million a year earlier.

ITE, which has been growing by acquiring stakes in smaller exhibition and conference organisers, said revenue rose marginally to £69.4 million.

Overhead costs at the organiser of exhibitions and conferences for industries ranging from mining and energy to fashion and hospitality rose by £2 million.

However, the company said it has booked revenue of £174 million since the beginning of this year — 12 per cent higher than the same time last year.

Two biennial events in Russia — printing exhibition Polygraphinter and woodworking machinery event Woodex — boosted the company’s profit last year.

ITE, which accrues almost half of its revenue from Moscow, has had its eye on expanding further into developing corporate events markets, including South-east Asia, India, Turkey and Russia.

Shares in the company, which have climbed about 40 per cent over the past year, were trading up 0.34 per cent at 295 pence at 0714 GMT on the London Stock Exchange on Monday.