IEG ends the half-year up 9 per cent. The new Vicenzaoro makes its debut in September
Profit up by 22 per cent and all square metres for the current year have already been sold
A half-year that exceeded expectations and, despite the impact of the war in Iran on trade fairs organised in the Middle East, a year-end target higher than the one announced, with guidance of between 293 and 298 million in revenue and 80–83 million in EBITDA.
Italian Exhibition Group closed the first six months of the year with revenue up 9 per cent compared with the same period in 2025, reaching 162.8 million, and a 22 per cent surge in EBITDA, which stood at 47.8 million, with a net profit of 22.7 million (+34 per cent), thanks in part to the impact of a calendar enhanced by five new trade fairs.
Furthermore, at the end of the half-year, “we have already sold 100 per cent of this year’s target in square metres”, explains Chief Executive Corrado Peraboni, who also highlights the share price’s performance on the stock market, which rose by 93 per cent in the first quarter of this year, “confirming the renewed interest, including from the financial sector, in the trade fair industry and the credibility of our development plan”, he adds. The group’s market capitalisation (which includes the Rimini and Vicenza exhibition centres) has therefore also risen, exceeding half a billion for the first time.
“We are sticking to the Business Plan, which set out both to strengthen our capacity to launch new events and to step up our scouting efforts to bring new events to our neighbourhoods,” says the CEO. Among the new events launched this year are Bex (on the space economy), which will take place in Rimini at the end of September, and Ssec (solar energy and storage), also at the end of September in the Vicenza district, as well as Aura, dedicated to luxury tourism, which will take place in Florence and is seeing an excellent response in terms of bookings. As regards hosted events (accounting for around 2 per cent of revenue), Peraboni cites two events organised by foreign groups, including the British giant Informa, which will bring Growtech (agricultural innovation) to Rimini in 2027.
The group has raised its targets for the current year despite the war in Iran, which has affected the three events organised by IEG in Dubai: one (My Plant and Garden) has been cancelled, whilst the other two (dedicated to the fitness and jewellery sectors) are currently confirmed, but are likely to see lower figures than in the past and compared to budget forecasts. “We had expected revenue of 5 million from these events, with a profit margin in excess of 2 million,” explains Peraboni. “Fortunately, the results from all our other activities, which far exceeded expectations, have more than offset the decline in the Middle East, so we have been able to raise our guidance for 2026.”
