Hefty insurance claims help Hyve survive pandemic, outlook positive

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 18, 2021

Thanks to £84.9 million worth of successful insurance claims and careful cost management, Hyve “is focused on emerging from the pandemic a stronger business… with an omnichannel strategy”, the events business said in its interim results report Tuesday.

“We have sufficient liquidity to make the most of the opportunity in front of us as markets begin to reopen”, the Pure London and Moda events organiser said.

And that need to reboot and return to normality can’t come quick enough, judging by the revenue hit its balance sheet took in the six months to 31 March. Revenues fell to £10.4 million from £90.6 million in the year-ago period.

But at least those insurance-backed gains more than helped its earnings column. Headline profits before tax actually rose to £27.6 million from £19.4 million last time, while profit before tax from continuing operations also hit £18.7 million, compared to a hefty pre-tax loss of £168.7 million in the six months to end-March 2020.

However, net debt is expected to remain between £100 million and £120 million at year end.
 
Fortunately, the company was able to run 12 live events in Russia, Ukraine, China, Turkey and India in H1, and Hyve said it was “optimistic” that events in Western economies will run in the second half. 

“Continued customer rollover for Western events provides confidence in the pent-up demand for market-leading in-person events, which Hyve is well positioned to serve”, it added.
 
It also noted that the pandemic had provided it with “an opportunity to reset, renew and evolve... We are enhancing our events by significantly building out our capability to deliver bespoke facilitated meetings programmes at a number of our events in FY22", it also said.
 
It added: “We continue to evolve our omnichannel strategy, enabling us to strengthen our existing brands, monetise online events and offer customers multiple opportunities to learn, network and trade throughout the year.

“Through the development of this omnichannel strategy, we will be able to provide customers with a calendar of opportunities to learn, network and trade, both online and in-person, throughout the entire year, further cementing our position as a strategic partner for industries”, it added.