Events organiser UBM was one of the biggest movers on the FTSE 250 on Wednesday, after strong results led to Liberum Capital reiterating their buy rating on the stock.
UBM, who are primarily engaged in organising international events and exhibitions, saw its headline pre-tax profits rise to £120.1 million in 2016, up from £119.6 million a year earlier.
Revenues were boosted to £863.0 million, up from £769.9 million in 2015.
The group made significant changes to its business structure over the course of the year, acquiring Asia-focused exhibitions firm Allworld for $485 million and selling its PR Newswire business.
The strong results led to analysts at Liberum Capital reiterating their buy rating on the stock. In a note to clients, the financial firm said: “We would expect consensus upgrades (we were 3-4 percent below consensus) following these results and reiterate our thesis that investors should increase exposure to stocks with exposure to US growth.”
Tim Cobbold, CEO of UBM, commented:
“During 2016 we made significant strategic progress and delivered performance ahead of expectations.
“We took further steps to focus UBM on the attractive B2B events sector by completing the PRN disposal and, in December, acquiring Allworld. At the same time, we made excellent progress implementing the Events First strategy at an operational level and delivered a strong financial performance ahead of market expectations.
“While remaining conscious of the global macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties, in 2017 the Board expects to see higher underlying revenue growth (excluding the impact of further portfolio rationalisation), enhanced by the consolidation of Allworld and the positive impact of odd-year biennials.”
Shares in UBM are currently trading up 4.54 percent at 759.50 (1129GMT).
