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Investing.com - Informa PLC (LSE:LON:INF.L) reported strong first-half results on Wednesday, raising its full-year revenue growth guidance despite posting a statutory loss due to a non-cash impairment charge.
The international events and academic publishing group saw its shares surge 5% following the announcement.
The company reported a 20.1% increase in revenue to £2.04 billion for the first half of 2025, while underlying revenue grew 7.8%.
However, Informa recorded a statutory operating loss of £137.0 million, compared to a £262.9 million profit in the same period last year, due to a £484.2 million non-cash impairment related to Informa TechTarget (NASDAQ:TTGT).
Despite the statutory loss, Informa upgraded its full-year underlying revenue growth guidance from 5%+ to 6%±, with its Live B2B Events segment expected to deliver 8%+ growth.
The company maintained its reported revenue guidance at £4 billion± while increasing its adjusted earnings growth forecast to 10%+.
"Informa is further increasing the pace of performance, delivering 20%+ growth in our four key performance measures: Revenues, Profits, Earnings and Free Cash Flow," said Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive of Informa PLC.
Adjusted operating profit rose 24.0% to £578.9 million, with adjusted operating margin increasing to 28.4% from 27.5% in the first half of 2024. Adjusted diluted earnings per share grew 25.2% to 29.8p, while free cash flow increased 25.0% to £356.9m.
The company announced an interim dividend of 7.0p per share, up 9.4% year-on-year, and committed to an additional £150 million in share buybacks in the second half of 2025, bringing total buybacks for the year to £350 million.
Informa’s Live B2B Events segment showed particular strength in Healthcare, Construction, Private Capital, and Marketing, while its Academic Markets division delivered 11.9% underlying revenue growth.
The company noted that approximately £3.1 billion, representing about 80% of 2025 revenue, is already committed or visible through subscriptions, forward bookings, and contracts.