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(Sharecast News) - Arena Events Group released its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 31 December on Tuesday, reporting a 16% year-on-year improvement in revenue to ?92.7m.
The AIM-traded firm noted that, as it had announced on 10 April, in a bid to better reflect its seasonality it had changed its year end to 31 March.

As a result, the next set of audited results would be for the 15-month period to 31 March 2020.

For the six months through December, Arena said gross profit rose to ?30.2m from ?25.1m year-on-year, while adjusted EBITDA rose 56% to ?13.4m.

Its operating profit stood at ?5.3m, swinging from a loss of ?0.3m.

For the 12 month period, the company's revenue was up 21% at ?162.7m, while adjusted EBITDA was 37% higher at ?16.6m.

Operating profit for the 12 months was ?4.5m, up from nil at the end of December 2018.

Arena said the full impact of IFRS 16 had been reflected in the results, resulting in an increase of ?2.1m in EBITDA for the six months ended 31 December, and additional depreciation of ?2.0m in the period.

IFRS 16 was excluded from all 2018 comparative results.

Looking at its operations, Arena said that in the UK, the delivery of structures, seating and furniture at major events including The Open golf championship at Royal Portrush, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, and the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

It also highlighted the installation of more than 20 ice rinks around the UK including new venues at Cathedral Gardens in Manchester and the Royal Museums in Greenwich, and the delivery of the players' training facilities and hospitality venue for the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals.

In the US, the firm's major activations included the Chicago Marathon, the Experimental Aircraft Aviation AirVenture show, and a "major software vendor" conference.

Arena said that in addition, a major cost reduction exercise was undertaken in the US in September, in a bid to re-shape the business.

For its Middle East and Asia geography, the firm completed two "very significant" contracts in Saudi Arabia, including a temporary 15,000 seat stadium and 3,000 guest VIP hospitality structure for the Joshua-Ruiz boxing match.

It also delivered a number of temporary hospitality structures for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, and provided temporary exhibition space for the world's largest oil and gas show, ADIPEC.

Since the period ended, Arena said it had secured a multi-year contract with the owners of the London Stadium - formerly known as the Olympic Stadium in Stratford - to develop, install and maintain new seating systems in the north and south of the stadium.

It also signed a multi-million pound contract to deliver a number of pavilions and kiosks for Expo 2020 in Dubai.

"For the group as a whole, trading for the six months to December has been solid," said chief executive officer Greg Lawless.

"In the Middle East and Asia, the successful delivery of several large, high-profile projects in Saudi Arabia and at the Rugby World Cup in Japan have more than offset weakness in the Hong Kong and Dubai markets.

"Whilst these large projects required additional investment in equipment and working capital, impacting overall debt levels, it has positioned the business well to support planned future growth in the region."

Lawless said that during the period, the company also reset the cost base in the US and in the UK, to ensure that it could continue to deliver an acceptable return on its asset base while ensuring it delivered to "the Arena standard" in all regions.

"The London events market remains soft, but it is pleasing to note that major Tier 1 events continue to grow with robust attendance levels in all regions.

"As previously announced, the group is changing its year end to March and expects the seasonally quiet calendar first quarter period in 2020 to be broadly in line with that of the prior year, with cost savings offsetting any market weakness.

"Looking further forward, despite some concerns about the general trading environment in a number of markets, the group still expects to see revenue growth in the year ended March 2021 with the return of the US Open, the Ryder Cup, the Dubai Expo 2020 and further projects in Saudi Arabia."

Arena said results and the dividend declaration for the 15 months ending March will be released in early July.

At 1135 GMT, shares in Arena Events Group were up 4.2% at 25.53p.