Informa Reports 20%+ H1 Growth, Upgrades Guidance and Announces £150m Additional Buybacks

A Strong First Half for Informa: Growth, Upgrades and Buybacks

Informa’s latest half-year results aren’t just good – they’re the kind that makes you sit up and take notice. The international B2B events, digital services and academic markets group has delivered a powerful performance, hitting that sweet spot where strong underlying growth meets strategic execution. Let’s unpack what’s driving this momentum.

The Headline Numbers: More Than Just Growth

These aren’t incremental gains – we’re talking double-digit surges across the board:

• Revenue up 20.1% to £2,035.9m
• Adjusted operating profit up 24.0% to £578.9m
• Adjusted diluted EPS up 25.2% to 29.8p
• Free cash flow up 25.0% to £356.9m

Dig beneath the surface, and the underlying story remains robust – stripping out acquisitions and currency effects, revenue still grew 7.8% and adjusted operating profit climbed 9.2%. That’s not just bouncing back; it’s moving forward with purpose.

Confidence in the Pipeline: Upgrading the Future

Management isn’t just looking back – they’re upgrading expectations for the full year. Underlying revenue growth guidance has been nudged up from 5%+ to 6%±, while adjusted earnings growth is now pegged at 10%+. This confidence stems from remarkable visibility:

• £3.1bn of 2025 revenue (c.80%) is already committed or visible – up from £2.7bn this time last year.
• A further £0.5bn+ is booked for 2026, representing a 15% year-on-year jump in forward bookings.

Operational efficiency is also shining through. The adjusted operating margin ticked up to 28.4% (from 27.5%), fuelled by underlying profit growth and those increasingly valuable AI data licensing agreements.

Putting Cash to Work: Rewarding Shareholders

Strong cash generation means Informa can keep investing while also returning significant capital to shareholders. The 2025 interim dividend gets a healthy 9.4% boost to 7.0p. But the real headline grabber is the buyback programme:

• £200m of buybacks completed year-to-date at an average price of 757p.
• An additional £150m committed for H2, taking the 2025 total to £350m.

This isn’t a one-off. Since 2022, Informa has returned over £1.8bn to shareholders via buybacks. That’s a serious commitment to capital discipline and shareholder returns.

Division Deep Dive: Where the Growth Lives

The strength isn’t uniform, but the core engines are firing:

Live B2B Events: The Powerhouse

• Underlying revenue growth: 8.5% (Reported +18.6% to £1,535.6m)
• Demand for category-leading events (Healthcare, Construction, Private Capital, Marketing) remains strong.
• Geographic diversification (India, Vietnam, KSA, UAE) provides resilience. Full-year underlying growth target upgraded to 8%+.

Taylor & Francis: Steady Scholar

• Underlying revenue growth: 11.9% (Reported +9.2% to £328.7m).
• Core subscription renewals solid, Open Research growing.
• Data licensing deals (non-recurring) bolstering results. Targeting 3-4% core underlying growth for the full year.

Informa TechTarget: Building Foundations

• Underlying revenue decline: -4.3% (Reported +72.5% to £171.6m, reflecting acquisition).
• H1 2025 dubbed the “Foundation Year” post-TechTarget combination. Market remains subdued as tech customers prioritise AI R&D over marketing spend.
• Targeting broadly flat revenues for FY2025 (modelled range +1% to -5%). The significant non-cash goodwill impairment (£484.2m) reflects current US market valuations and trading challenges here.

The Growth Engine: “One Informa” Kicks Into Gear

Beyond the numbers, the strategic “One Informa” (2025-2028) programme is taking shape, focused on leveraging scale and specialism:

• Brand Power: Aligning 800+ specialist B2B brands under the Informa umbrella.

Market Expansion: Deepening positions in Luxury & Lifestyle (Informa Prestige – $150-200m revenue) and key growth geographies (India, KSA, UAE – including Money20/20 Middle East and Dubai World Trade Centre combination).

• AI Dividend: Rolling out proprietary AI agent ‘Elysia’ to drive efficiency and free up time for innovation.
• Data & Experience: Enhancing marketing via the IIRIS platform and investing in the live event customer journey.

Balancing Risk and Reward

It’s not all plain sailing. The TechTarget impairment is a stark reminder of challenging market conditions in enterprise tech. The Group also highlights watching:

• Economic instability and market-specific downturns.
• Effective integration of acquisitions (especially TechTarget).
• Cybersecurity threats and responsible use of data/AI.

However, strong diversification, high revenue visibility, and a robust balance sheet (with £1.9bn liquidity) provide significant buffers.

The Verdict: Momentum Meets Capital Discipline

Informa’s H1 performance is undeniably impressive. They’re not just growing; they’re upgrading expectations and putting significant cash back in shareholders’ pockets. The core Live B2B and Academic businesses are delivering, the “One Informa” strategy is being actively deployed, and forward visibility is exceptionally strong.

While TechTarget represents a work-in-progress and macro risks persist, the combination of operational execution, strategic focus, and shareholder-friendly capital allocation makes this a compelling story. The £350m buyback for 2025 isn’t just a number; it’s a statement of confidence in the Group’s cash generation and future prospects. One to watch closely as the second half unfolds.