Messe Frankfurt aims to be back on course for growth again, expecting sales to be in the region of €450 million this financial year compared to the €154 million it recorded in the previous year.
It said after the pandemic restrictions were eased in April 2022, approximately 52,000 exhibitors and 3.3 million visitors attended the 310 events held during the year under the Messe Frankfurt umbrella.
Now that the master plan for the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds is being brought to a close, it said the focus of investment is on three key areas: new trade fair concepts, digitalisation and sustainability.
On presenting the group’s preliminary figures for financial year 2022, Wolfgang Marzin, president and CEO of Messe Frankfurt, said, “Face-to-face interaction – our core business – is needed and is in great demand. The importance of this for the sectors we serve can be seen from the sheer number of events, the consistently high level of customer satisfaction and the clear international component”.
Some of the organisation’s 80 events around the world were cancelled or postponed owing to the after-effects of the coronavirus. Messe Frankfurt confirmed that around 73 per cent of exhibitors at its events in Frankfurt came from outside Germany, as did around 57 per cent of trade buyers.
“We currently expect consolidated sales for financial year 2022 to be around €450 million. The Group result after tax will be in the region of negative €30 million, due among other things to the first quarter being lost to the pandemic, to loans being repaid and to the sale of a property being factored in,” Marzin said.
Commenting on the group’s strategic reorientation, he added, “Over the past two years, we have learnt a great deal and shown a lot of courage. We have tried things out, selected the most suitable ones and are now concentrating on what is relevant and are able to optimise the quality of our events and services”.
The company says its aim now is to speed up its digital modernisation and to turn its events into an exclusive B2B hub for the various sectors throughout the whole year.
Regarding the digital optimisation of events, Messe Frankfurt member of the executive board Detlef Braun said, “We are taking our content management to the next level by developing and operating year-round communication platforms. The speed and intensity of these programmes are determined by the needs in each of our sectors.
“Systematic data-driven marketing is the next step for us. This means that, in the future, relevant customer information will be collected even more effectively in a single database and used to market our trade fairs.”
Messe Frankfurt will also invest in a state-of-the-art IT structure to increase its operational efficiency by optimising processes, to further improve its security standards and to equip its events with modern products, services and tools.
Sustainability is another central part of Messe Frankfurt’s corporate strategy. The company has completed an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) rating for the first time and has received a bronze medal.
Messe Frankfurt is also aiming to be the first company in the events sector to secure a certificate from environmental management system Eco Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS).
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