Plenty new on the western front
The EMECA exhibition centres are investing, expanding, and turning in good results for the most part. Their business situation was broadly stable in 2004.
Things are happening in the exhibition industry throughout Europe. Members of the European Major Exhibition Centres Association (EMECA) are reporting innovations, with Lyon inaugurating its new Hall 66, MCH Swiss Exhibition Ltd. in positive territory and Milan competing very seriously with Hanover and Munich as a big-ticket exhibition centre.
Business is also going well in the south-westernmost tip of Europe. Lisbon fair announced a 25 % increase in exhibitors for 2003, with attendance up 3 % and sales 4.5 % higher. In view of the flat economic situation, Lisbon was expecting only modest growth of up to 3 % for the last business year. In Spain the exhibition centres in Valencia, Madrid and Barcelona are vying for trade. In the period 2001 to 2004 the number of exhibitions in Valencia jumped 9 % and net space sold edged up by not quite 3 %. In Barcelona, more exhibitors took part in shows in 2004, the space sold held steady, and more visitors attended the exhibitions.
IFEMA in Madrid celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. With 43 exhibitions in the first six months, it boosted sales by 12 % on the first half of 2003. The two most heavily frequented fairs were understandably hit in the aftermath of the March 11 terrorist attacks, posting lower overall attendance than in the comparable period 2002. Nonetheless, the exhibition company closed fiscal 2004 with 15 % growth in sales on 2002. Madrid is one of the most rapidly expanding exhibition centres in Europe, with a second extension stage planned.
Exhibitions in 2003 brought 1,028,000 visitors and 21,000 exhibitors to Paris Nord Villepinte. Both figures are down slightly on the previous years. Meanwhile, in 2003 the exhibition and conference centre Eurexpo in Lyon posted the best-ever turnover of its 20-year history. The new 12,800 m2 Hall 66 was inaugurated in October 2004, bringing Lyon up to the magic 100,000 m2 mark. The fastest growth at present is taking place in business with events. Although the last financial year was rotationally weaker, it, too, notched up further positive development in profits.
Exhibition activity in Italy is proceeding dynamically and professionally, with further progress on privatisation. Rimini Fiera achieved a capital increase to 19.7 % last spring, and privatisation is now entering the second round. Two new halls (13,000 m2) were taken online last September. In 2003 sales came in at EUR 51.2 million, with 590,000 m2 sold at the 23 exhibitions (2002: 700,641 m2); 7,713 exhibitors were counted (2002: 9,163), and attendance rose from 896,655 in 2002 to 927,868. The ten-year plan projects sales growth to EUR 95 million. Bologna reports an uptick in net space sold. Sales and marketing manager Mauro Malfatti from BolognaFiere says the key ratios are all positive on average and business is going well. The Fiera Milano group of companies boosted its sales mid-2004 from EUR 219 million to EUR 291 million. EBIDTA climbed from EUR 36 to 57 million. The new exhibition centre opens at the end of March 2005.
In Switzerland, the exhibition companies experienced no growth of note in 2004. The business year at Geneva's Palexpo was slightly slacker than in 2003 due to the periodicity of certain fairs. In the course of the year the company saw a change of management. MCH Swiss Exhibition with venues in Basel and Zurich reports consolidated earnings through June 2004 of CHF 126.0 million (2003: CHF 121.0 million). The figures for 2003 showed earnings of CHF 179.5 million (2002: CHF 181.2 million) and expenditure before depreciation of CHF 149.2 million (2002: CHF 151.0 million), with cash flow of CHF 30.3 million (2002: CHF 30.2 million).
The NEC (National Exhibition Centre), Birmingham, was given a huge boost by the first-time staging of the textile machinery exhibition ITMA, which occupied the entire 200,000 m2 site.
Very good annual results were reported by the German EMECA centres Frankfurt and Nuremberg. Benefiting from eastward enlargement of the European Union, Nuremberg is investing in the new CongressCenter East. Particularly in its international business, Frankfurt is setting its sights westward, sounding out possible partnerships Europe-wide.
Looking at the individual exhibition venues, it emerges that there are no uniform standards for data recording and evaluation. And in terms of transparency in business developments, European unification is still a long way off. So in future, too, the exhibition community will still have to measure with different yardsticks. Petra Schmieder
m+a report Nr.2 / 2005 vom 23.03.2005
m+a report vom 23. März 2005