Informa PLC (LSE:INF) business model is a lot more resilient than it gets credit for in the market, analysts at Berenberg believe though this might not be apparent in the forthcoming interim numbers.
“First-half results towards the end of July will likely show only flat EPS year-on-year due to a very tough comparative period last year,” said the broker.
Informa has guided for the “upper end” of £3,450m-3,500m in revenue for the full year and £950m-970m in adjusted operating profit
Berenberg says though attendees may reconsider whether to attend trade exhibitions when times are tough, only “in very extreme situations would a decision be taken not to turn up to an industry-leading event at which thousands of potential customers are attending”.
Berenberg adds that only 11% of Informa’s B2B market revenue is from attendees, with most coming from exhibitors.
“As such, we believe Informa’s B2B Markets revenue is more defensive than it is sometimes given credit for” and " As Informa carries on delivering high-single-digit growth, we therefore believe that its share price can continue to grind higher."
Buy with a target of 1,010p is Berenberg’s view.