Tarsus Regulatory News (TRS)

1 May 2009 07:00



Tarsus Group plc

1 May 2009

TARSUS GROUP plc

Interim Management Statement

Tarsus Group plc ('Tarsus' or 'the Group'), the international media group with interests in exhibitions, conferences, publishing and online media is today publishing its Interim Management Statement relating to the period from 1 January 2009 to 30 April 2009. 

Trading Performance

Trading for the first four months of 2009 has been in line with the Board's expectations. A summary of the more significant developments includes:

In the US:

-  As previously indicated the February 2009 Off-Price Show in Las Vegas performed well.  Whilst exhibitor numbers were slightly down, the strong US Dollar compensated, in Sterling terms, for the decrease in revenues.  Attendee numbers and buying activity were strong. 

-  Our Medical Division held a number of events during the period, the largest of which was in Orlando last week. As anticipated, the revenue trends experienced in the fourth quarter of 2008 have continued into 2009, with lower exhibitor revenues, but increased attendances of doctors for the education and conference elements. 

- Mod'Amont, in February, demonstrated the advantage of its position as the definitive exhibition worldwide for clothing accessories. Visitor attendance was virtually unchanged and like-for-like revenues marginally down.

- The newly co-located IT and Services exhibitions in Paris at the end of March performed well with strong visitor attendance and revenues were in line with expectations. 

- All of our events in Dubai (which included our largest exhibition in the period - Gulf Pack & Print) demonstrated strong revenue growth and record attendances. Of particular note were the successful launches of MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) for the aviation industry and the Dubai Label Summit. 

Financial Position

There have been no significant changes to the financial position of the Group since the publication of the preliminary results on 3 March 2009.

Outlook 

The Group's revenues are heavily second-half weighted and forward bookings remain solid.

Income from our exhibitions, which constitute approximately 90% of our expected revenue in 2009, continues to show great resilience in the current difficult economic environment. 

As such, our view of trading for 2009 is unchanged with our strong brands and diversified portfolio of events positioning us well for the future. 

Tarsus Group plc

Douglas Emslie, Group Managing Director: 020 8846 2700

Ashley Milton, Group Finance Director: 020 8846 2700

Media

Madano Partnership 

Matthew Moth, 020 7593 4000

Investors/Analysts

IRfocus

Neville Harris, 020 7593 4015

Scott Harris

Stephen Scott, Jeremy Wiseman, 020 7653 0030

KBC Peel Hunt

Julian Blunt 020 7418 8912

Matthew Tyler, Corporate Broking 020 7418 8837