(Reuters) - Informa (L:INF), the world's largest organiser of exhibitions, said on Friday its 2020 revenue was likely to fall by about a third as it bears the brunt of large-scale event cancellations due to restrictions put to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The company, which organises events such as Monaco Yacht Show, World of Concrete and Arab Health, said it has identified cost savings of more than 400 million pounds to halt a slide in its profit.
The London-based firm said annual revenue was likely to come in at around 2 billion pounds, while it had reported a revenue of 2.89 billion pounds in 2019.
Informa raised 1 billion pounds through a share sale in April to buffer the impact of the pandemic.
"The prospect of a return for some of our major Events brands in Mainland China from July is now real," Chief Executive Officer Stephen Carter said, with China Beauty Expo in Shanghai being the first scheduled major event for the company.
Informa added it was unlikely that physical events would resume before September in the United States, its largest events market.
However, the exhibitions organiser said its subscription business was trading well, particularly across its clinical trials and drug development brands in the pharmaceutical space.
The company's shares, which dropped nearly 50% so far this year, were up 3.7% in early trade.