Ascential PLC (LON:ASCL) reported a wider annual pretax loss as Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions led to lower revenue from its events and strategic advisory businesses, although the events and information services group said the current year has started well.
Pretax losses widened to £184.3mln in 2020 from £7.9mln in the previous year as revenue dropped 31% to £263.7mln. The company will not pay a dividend in respect of 2020.
"While our two marquee events are ready for a recovery as conditions allow, the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions continue to influence the timing of a return to maximum participation at venues," said chief executive Duncan Painter. "The pace and effective delivery of vaccines will also be a critical factor."
Digital Commerce accounted for about 40% of revenue in 2020 and is now the company's biggest segment. Ascential said the Digital Commerce and Product Design business units remain well positioned, even more so than twelve months ago, to benefit from the accelerated shift towards eCommerce.
"The resilience and underlying momentum within the business model, combined with our strong balance sheet and strong trading in the first two months of the year, give us confidence of further good progress in the year ahead."
Ascential said 2021 has started well with strong growth in revenue and profits in the first two months of the year.
"While the speed of vaccine deployment and easing of government restrictions will heavily influence the near-term financial success of our event products, we have high levels of confidence in our digital subscriptions and platforms products and, after double-digit growth in 2020, expect these revenue streams to continue to grow well in the coming year," it said.