LONDON, March 12, 2026, 20:41 GMT
Informa ended Thursday off 1.36% at 768.4 pence. The London-listed company pushed back events for over 10 brands across the Middle East and signaled it would eat some rescheduling expenses, despite notching a record 2025 revenue figure and increasing its buyback.
Why does it matter? Management hasn’t budged on its 2026 growth targets for the India, Middle East and Africa division. Informa pointed out that about 40% of this year’s revenue from that region is either already booked or comes from brands operating in unaffected locations. Even with ongoing travel snags tied to active military zones, the company left its guidance unchanged.
Revenue climbed 13.7% to 4.04 billion pounds in 2025. Adjusted operating profit—a figure that leaves out some one-off items—was up 14.6% to 1.14 billion pounds. The company posted a 9% jump in free cash flow to 884.8 million pounds. Adjusted diluted EPS came in 11% higher at 55.6 pence, and the board lifted the full-year dividend by 10% to 22 pence.
Informa is sticking to its outlook for around 6% underlying revenue growth in 2026 on a like-for-like basis, projecting business-to-business live events will climb even higher, above 7%. Over 2 billion pounds of this year’s revenue has already been secured—paid, booked, or committed—thanks to a strong first quarter from healthcare and food events, according to the company.
Stephen Carter, chief executive, described the 2025 performance as “outstanding” and pointed to “compounding growth opportunities” for Informa. Speaking to analysts, Carter noted that just a nominal number of clients pulled out of Middle East events, adding the postponed shows remain in place and haven’t been moved elsewhere. Informa
Even so, Carter noted there will be a price to pay for the holdup. “There are some fixed costs that we’ll have to swallow,” he said, following the rescheduling of events for over 10 brands into the later months of 2026. Reuters
Management has bumped up its 2026 share buyback target to 250 million pounds from the earlier 200 million, pointing to solid cash flow and what it views as undervalued shares. Informa noted it’s already bought back 72.5 million pounds’ worth of stock this year, paying an average of 834 pence per share—higher than where the stock closed on Thursday.
Still, cracks showed. Statutory operating profit dropped sharply to 141.7 million pounds from 542.8 million, hit by increased intangible amortisation and an earlier non-cash impairment tied to digital arm Informa TechTarget. As for the brands delayed earlier, those are either set to go ahead or have confirmed options to run within the year’s last four months.
The wider market struggled too, with the FTSE 100 slipping 0.4% on Thursday as oil climbed back to $100. AJ Bell’s Danni Hewson warned that if the disruption drags on, energy prices could spike, fueling inflation and renewed concerns about interest rates.
UK holiday operator On the Beach pulled its annual outlook on Thursday, citing a drop in bookings for Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt linked to the conflict. Informa, for its part, noted that it had no events scheduled in the affected regions during March, pointing to Ramadan, and said planning for second-quarter events was still underway—pending discussions with local authorities.
