Tarsus Regulatory News (TRS)

4 Jan 2006 07:00

Tarsus Group PLC04 January 2006 4 January 2006 TARSUS GROUP PLC TRADING UPDATE Tarsus Group PLC ("Tarsus" or "the Group"), the international media group withinterests in exhibitions, conferences, publishing and online media continued totrade well in the second half of 2005. The performance of the Group's majorevents was up to the Directors' best expectations. In September, Tarsus' largest show - the biennial Labelexpo Europe - achievedrevenues over 20% greater than the equivalent show in 2003 - a testimony to thestrength of this brand. Strong revenue increases were seen at the Group's twolargest shows in France - Heavent and Educatec - and the improving trend inFrance was underlined by an excellent performance from their directoriesdivision. Trading generally in 2005 was encouraging across all geographic areas of thebusiness. The major US shows performed strongly and have high rebooking levels.In the UK, there was strong growth at Labels & Labeling magazine, while revenuesat the nascent online media business grew by nearly 75%. The increased scale ofthe French business - following the acquisitions in June - is helping to driverevenues. The breadth of this business will be further improved following therecent purchase of a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) conference, which willbe developed into an exhibition in 2006. Finally, good progress has been made indeveloping the Group's Chinese business and Labelexpo Asia, which took place inDecember, was over twice the size of the previous show. Some twenty new products were launched in 2005 laying the foundations forfurther organic growth. Of particular note is an addition to the range ofOff-Price shows in the US. From 2006 the Off-Price Home Goods show will takeplace four times a year in partnership with the Las Vegas World Market Center,home to the largest furniture exhibition in the US. The launch of additionalpackaging shows in the US under the banner of the Packaging Summit wasparticularly well received. From 2006 the American Packaging Awards will takeplace at this Packaging Summit which will also host the World PackagingOrganisation's Conference and Awards ceremony in 2007. Outlook for 2006 The strength of the Group's long-term brands is undiminished. Over the last yearthis has enabled the Group to invest in and extend its reach into a number ofnew, but related areas that have considerable potential. The positive trendsevident throughout the business, combined with the launch of new products givethe Directors confidence that 2006 will be a year of further progress withstrong like-for-like growth. For further information please contact: Tarsus Group plc:Douglas EmslieGroup Managing Director: Tel 020 8846 2700 Media:Mark WayMadano Partnership: Tel: 07786 116991 Investors:Neville HarrisIRFocus: Tel: 020 7593 4000 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange