30 Jun 2010 07:00

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Tarsus Group Plc
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30th June 2010
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Pre-close Update
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Group trading in-line with expectations and well positioned for the future
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Tarsus Group Plc. ('Tarsus' or 'the Group') (LSE:TRS), the international business-to-business media group, is today providing investors with a pre-close update on trading.
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Group Performance
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The Group's results remain heavily weighted towards the second half of the year when the majority of our exhibitions occur. As such, there is little to add on first half trading performance since the Interim Management Statement released on 10 May 2010 when the Board indicated that trading for the period had been in line with the Board's expectations.
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Overall, the business continues to perform well and we are once again seeing good visibility for the year as a whole. Approximately three quarters of expected 2010 full year revenues are now contracted, a similar amount as at the same stage last year.
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Divisional Performance
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MEBA, our largest event in the Emerging Markets this year, is showing strong growth. From a strategic perspective, we are also seeing good progress with our "Project 50/13" initiative which will accelerate the pace at which we increase our scale in Emerging Markets.
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Our US business continues to build momentum with sales ahead of 2009. Sales for our largest event of the year, Labelexpo Americas, have improved since the IMS but are still slightly behind its prior cycle.
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In France our key fourth quarter events continue to show signs of stabilisation.
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Douglas Emslie, Group Managing Director, commented "We are very pleased with the progress we are making; the opportunities we are seeing in both the Middle and Far East continue to develop and there are signs of economic recovery in our European and US Markets. We are already seeing tangible evidence that our 50/13 strategy is creating opportunities to leverage our business in our chosen markets."
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The next update on performance will be provided at the interim results on 28 July 2010 which will cover both the six month period to 30 June 2010 and importantly the outlook for the second half of the year.
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For further information, please contact:
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Tarsus Group Plc
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Douglas Emslie, Group Managing Director 020 8846 2700
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Ashley Milton, Group Finance Director 020 8846 2700
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Media
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Matthew Moth, Madano Partnership 020 7593 4000
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Investors/Analysts
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Neville Harris, IRfocus 020 7593 4015
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Stephen Scott, Jeremy Wiseman, Scott Harris 020 7653 0030
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