LONDON, March 12, 2026, 20:41 GMT
Informa shares closed 1.36% lower at 768.4 pence on Thursday after the London-listed group delayed events tied to more than 10 brands in the Middle East and said it would absorb some rescheduling costs, even as it posted record 2025 revenue and raised its buyback. 1
The reaction matters because management is still targeting growth in its India, Middle East and Africa business in 2026. Informa said around 40% of that region’s revenue for the year has already traded or relates to brands in business-as-usual locations, and it kept its targets intact despite current travel disruption in places directly affected by military activity. 2
Revenue rose 13.7% to 4.04 billion pounds in 2025, while adjusted operating profit — a company measure that strips out some one-off items — increased 14.6% to 1.14 billion pounds. Free cash flow climbed 9% to 884.8 million pounds, adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 11% to 55.6 pence and the full-year dividend increased 10% to 22 pence. 2
Informa said it still expects about 6% underlying revenue growth in 2026, using its like-for-like sales measure, with business-to-business live events growing more than 7%. More than 2 billion pounds of this year’s revenue is already paid, booked or committed after strong first-quarter performances in healthcare and food events, the company said. 2
Chief executive Stephen Carter called the 2025 performance “outstanding” and said Informa saw “compounding growth opportunities” ahead. He also told analysts only a nominal number of clients had withdrawn from Middle East events and that the postponed shows had not been relocated. 2
Still, Carter said the delays will carry a cost. “There are some fixed costs that we’ll have to swallow,” he said, after events across more than 10 brands were shifted into later months of 2026. 1
Management also increased its 2026 share buyback, where a company repurchases its own stock, to 250 million pounds from 200 million pounds, citing strong cash generation and depressed equity values. Informa said it had already completed 72.5 million pounds of purchases this year at an average 834 pence a share, above Thursday’s close. 2
But the picture was not spotless. Statutory operating profit fell to 141.7 million pounds from 542.8 million pounds because of higher intangible amortisation and a previously reported non-cash impairment at digital unit Informa TechTarget, while the remaining rescheduled brands are now due to run, or have confirmed options to run, in the last four months of the year. 2
The broader market backdrop did not help. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4% on Thursday as oil returned to $100, and AJ Bell’s Danni Hewson said a longer disruption would push up energy prices and, in turn, inflation and interest-rate worries. 3
By contrast, UK holiday group On the Beach suspended its annual forecast on Thursday after the same conflict hit bookings to Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. Informa said no events in the affected countries were due in March because of Ramadan and that preparations for second-quarter events were continuing, subject to review with local authorities. 4
