Shares of Informa PLC (LSE:INF), the events organiser, rose 4% in the first half-hour of trading on Thursday following an upward revision of its annual profit and revenue forecast.
Boosted by a solid performance in its academic and B2B markets divisions, Informa predicts a 10% rise in its adjusted operating profit for the year ending 31 December 2023 to between £709-£750mln.
The firm's revised revenue forecast is also optimistic, expecting between £2.95-£3.05bn, a 7% increase on previous estimates.
This would exceed its fiscal 2019 revenue of £2.89bn, achieved before the pandemic's impact. Informa expressed confidence in a strong outcome for 2023 and sustained momentum into 2024, reflecting a recovery in the events industry from the COVID-induced downturn.
At 8.30 am, the shares were changing hands for 730.6p, up 26.2p.
Analysts at UBS said they expect investors to react "positively".
"We estimate consensus EPS for FY23 will increase by a high single digit percentage given the c10% increase in the guidance. Some of the increase is already in consensus given the previously announced Winsight acquisition."