Informa brushes up

Brisk trading drove like-for-like sales up 3 per cent in Informa's largest division, academic publishing. The segment added around 172 journals and 14,000 books to its library by acquiring two publishers, Maney and Ashgate. But management says it needs to invest further in content and technology to keep up with changing reader habits and mounting demand for digital services.

Informa sold its consumer data businesses to Progressive Digital Media as its ailing business intelligence division zeroed in on key markets such as law and finance. Excluding disposals, sales fell 3.5 per cent - an improvement from a 9 per cent decline in 2014.

Underlying sales climbed 6 per cent at Informa's exhibitions business as crowds flocked to its Arab Health, China Beauty Expo and World of Concrete events. The group also acquired three shows in the enormous US market, including Dwell-on-Design and MegaCon, a pop culture convention. Meanwhile, key conferences such as Fund Forum and BioEurope buoyed the group's smaller knowledge and networking division, even as tepid trading in Australasia and Russia sent its operating profits down 19 per cent.

Broker Investec expects full-year pre-tax profit of £336m, giving EPS of 41p (2014: £310m and 40.3p).