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Investing.com -- Informa Plc (LON:INF) shares rose more than 3% on Thursday after the company reported a 7.6% increase in underlying revenue for the first quarter and maintained its full-year guidance.
The update showed £2.5 billion of expected 2025 revenue, or 61% of the company’s full-year target, has already been traded, booked or committed.
That compares with about 40% in early March and is ahead of the same point last year. Based on prior-year pacing, the figure is expected to reach around 70% by the June annual general meeting.
Informa maintained its full-year guidance of at least 5% underlying revenue growth. The company also continues to target revenue of approximately £4.1 billion, adjusted for a revised exchange rate assumption of USD/GBP 1.27.
At USD/GBP 1.32, the forecast would imply reported revenue closer to £4.0 billion, broadly in line with current market estimates.
Adjusted earnings per share are still expected to grow by double digits. Each 1 cent move in the USD/GBP exchange rate represents a 0.5 pence, or 0.8%, shift in adjusted EPS.
Growth in the first quarter was broad-based. The company cited strength across all regions, with the U.S. accounting for about half of total sales and the IMEA region, including India and the Middle East, delivering growth despite a strong comparison period.
The Taylor & Francis academic publishing division benefited from AI-related content licensing deals that were not present in the prior-year period. These payments are expected to create a drag on group revenue growth later in the year.
While growth is expected to moderate in the second half due to one-off comparables and timing factors, analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Barclays (LON:BARC), and BofA Securities all reiterated positive ratings on the stock following the update.
Morgan Stanley maintained its “overweight” rating, Barclays kept its 840 pence price target and “overweight” rating, and BofA reiterated a “buy” rating with a 1,010 pence price objective.
BofA noted that Informa is trading at 13 times estimated 2025 earnings, down about 18% from its year-to-date peak.
Consensus forecasts for 2025 are not expected to change materially, though some modest EPS adjustments may follow due to foreign exchange.