Koelnmesse’s business for 2014: Good results, despite the net loss
Koelnmesse’s business results for 2014 included a turnover of EUR 231.2 million, net loss of EUR 3.3 million, 81 events, more than 34,000 exhibitors and 2.1 million visitors.
The company’s annual net loss of EUR 3.3 million was even €16 million better than expected.
“In spite of the net loss, 2014 was an outstanding business year,” says Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse. “We have achieved a turnaround, we have grown in Germany and abroad, and we have formulated clear goals and perspectives for the future.”
This assessment is shared by the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Mayor Jürgen Roters.
“Koelnmesse has realigned its operations to make itself sustainably profitable. We can look forward to the future with pleasant anticipation,” he says. This year, Koelnmesse expects to once again set new records in its company history and generate more than EUR 300 million in turnover. Provided that economic development remains stable, Koelnmesse expects to post a cumulative profit of almost EUR 60 million over the next five years. The company plans to reinvest the entire amount in its own development.
In 2014 a total of 81 trade fairs and exhibitions attracted more than 34,000 companies from 96 countries as well as over 2.1 million visitors from 198 countries. Koelnmesse held 23 of its own events and 26 guest events in Cologne as well as 32 trade fairs outside of Germany.
The great improvement in Koelnmesse’s results was largely due to the good development of several of the leading trade fairs in the company’s program. According to the trade fair industry’s umbrella organization, AUMA, the total number of trade fair visitors and exhibitors in Germany rose by one percent each in 2014 and the total size of the total stand area remained constant. By contrast, the figures for the Cologne trade fair program increased by an average of six percent compared to the respective previous events, and the cumulative result for the last four years rose by more than 30 percent. This applies to trade fairs for future-oriented digital topics such as dmexco and gamescom, to traditional events such as imm cologne, ORGATEC, EISENWARENMESSE — International Hardware Fair Cologne, ISM, and ART COLOGNE, and to trade fairs such as h+h cologne and Kind + Jugend.
The events and guest events served by the subsidiary Koelnmesse Ausstellungen GmbH contributed considerably to the Koelnmesse consolidated companies’ business success. The 26 guest events held in 2014 were attended by almost 7,600 exhibitors and around 390,000 visitors. They generated EUR 15.6 million in turnover last year as well as a EUR 6.6 million surplus before the profit transfer.
Among the various business activities outside Germany, the events held in China, India, other Asian countries, and the Arab region developed well. This group was recently joined by Turkey with ANUFOOD Eurasia and by the South American market. In 2014 Koelnmesse established a new subsidiary in Brazil, where it organizes ANUTEC – International Foodtec Brazil and UrbanTec Brasil.
Colombia is also a very interesting future market for Koelnmesse on account of its economic potential and its geographic location in Central America.
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