HYVE.L Regulatory News (HYVE)

6 Mar 2008 07:00

ITE Group PLC06 March 2008 6 March 2008 ITE Group plc AGM Statement ITE Group plc, the international exhibitions group specialising in emerging anddeveloping markets, has issued the following trading update ahead of theCompany's Annual General Meeting today. On 30 January 2008 the Group released an Interim Management Statement for thefirst quarter of its financial year. In that statement the Board confirmed thatthe outlook for the Group remained positive and that as at 25 January 2008 £71mof revenue had been booked, representing 70% of turnover for the year, and likefor like revenues were more than 10% ahead of the comparable figure for theprior year. The principal events that have taken place since 30 January are: • In February the MODA fashion event took place in Birmingham. The exhibition, well attended by visitors and well received by exhibitors, recorded sales of 17,200m2 (2007: 18,200m2) - a good result taken in the context of the UK trading environment. • The other main events that took place in February were the spring season events in Ukraine including Kievbuild, the construction event and Agrihort, the international agricultural event. Both these events recorded good growth of more than 15% in m2 sold compared to the previous year's events. On 29 February 2008 the Group completed the acquisition for a cash considerationof Roubles 30m ($1.15m) of a small Security and Fire Protection event, SFITEX,which runs in November each year in St Petersburg. This event is complementaryto the Moscow International Protection and Security event already owned by ITEand strengthens the Company's portfolio in this growing sector. The Group's sales are progressing in line with our expectations with goodvisibility of sales. As at 29 February 2008, the Group had booked sales of £81mfor this financial year representing 80% of consensus estimates for the year.Like for like revenues remain more than 10% ahead of the comparable figures forlast year and the Board remains confident that the business is performing inline with expectations for the full year. As announced in the Group's 2007 Annual Report, after almost 10 years' service,Sir Jeremy Hanley, 62, will be retiring as a non-executive director of ITE Groupfollowing today's AGM. The Board would like to thank Sir Jeremy for his supportand guidance over the years and an announcement regarding the appointment of anew non-executive director will be made in the near future. - ends - Enquiries: Iain Paterson, Chairman ITE Group plc 020 7596 5000Russell Taylor, CEO ITE Group plc 020 7596 5000Tim Spratt Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange