Informa (LON:INF) shares rose 1.2 percent on Wednesday morning, after improvements in both revenue and operating profit during the course of 2017.
Revenue rose 30.7 percent to £1,757.6 million in 2017, helped by a strong return from acquisitions and favourable currency movements. Statutory operating profit rose to £345.3 million, with adjusted operating profit up 31.3 percent to £545.5 million.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share grew 9.5% to 46.1p from 42.1p.
The company said the integration of Penton Information Services was delivered ahead of plan and was set to deliver at least $18.5m (£14m) net cost synergies and revenue benefits in 2018.
The final dividend of 20.45p for 2017 was up 6% on 305.7p in 2016.
Stephen Carter, group chief executive, said: “2017 was a year of performance and delivery, with all four divisions in growth, the integration of Penton Information Services achieved ahead of plan and our four-year acceleration programme delivered on budget and on schedule.”
He added: “Our investments over the last four years have helped build operational capability for continued growth and scale in 2018 and beyond.”
The results come just ahead of a proposed merger with exhibition giant UBM, with the strong figures likely leading to a consensus upgrade, especially taken alongside the expected improvement in UBM’s recent events performance.
Informa shares are currently trading up 1.20 percent at 694.20 (1040GMT).