Trade fairs for permission to trade fairs
Did you know that…
24.5 percent – this is how much the revenues of a group of 8 companies from the Polish exhibition industry fell in 2020 – according to data from the analyzed companies that have already published their results for the previous year. The loss on sales deepened from PLN 9.8 million to PLN 83.99 million. Interestingly, the net result of the group of 8 companies in 2020 was positive (PLN 14.8 million compared to a loss of PLN 18.8 million in 2019. This means that the industry leaders quickly found a way to operate during the epidemic and were able to use aid programs. The broad trade fair and event industry estimates that the real losses are already PLN 2.5 billion.
The trade fair industry was one of the first to feel the restrictions related to the epidemic and was one of the last to receive a chance to operate normally. In total, it was exposed to over a year of complete stagnation. Trade fairs under the sanitary regime can be held from June 6. The problem is that the holidays are a dead period for the trade fair industry. According to cautious estimates by the Committee for the Defense of the Trade Fair Industry (KOBT), only about 35% of pre-pandemic companies remain on the market, whose production capacity is now only 40%. The industry is appealing for help and a flexible approach to the epidemic situation. One that will allow it to survive the next wave. Especially since the fair is not only about large and well-known companies. It is also about small entrepreneurs cooperating with the fair organizers – sound and lighting specialists, scenography creators, and stage builders.
At InfoCredit, we have tracked the results of companies from the exhibition industry that have already published reports for 2020. There are 8 of them. Their aggregated results confirm that it was a very difficult year for the industry. However, the leaders, despite a significant drop in revenue, were able to adapt to the new reality.
The revenues of the analyzed comparative group in 2020 fell by 24.5%. In the case of the leaders, these declines are even greater – MTP revenues are 42% lower. However, it is worth paying attention to Ptak Warsaw Expo. The revenues of this company in 2020 increased by almost 70%.
The loss on sales of the analyzed group deepened from PLN 9.8 million in 2019 to PLN 83.99 million in 2020. However, the group’s operating and net result is already positive (operating PLN 28.2 million compared to PLN -11 million in 2019, net PLN 14.8 million compared to a loss of PLN 18.8 million in 2019). What does this mean? Firstly – a significant reduction in costs, secondly – taking advantage of the opportunities that the fairs were given by the space to organize support to fight the epidemic. And the flexibility to take new actions.
– The results of the analyzed group confirm that large companies in the industry took advantage of the opportunity to change their activities to the maximum. However, this is only a part of the broad exhibition industry. Smaller companies and entities cooperating with fairs had the biggest problems. And they are the ones who are on the verge of bankruptcy. This is not good news, because after the epidemic, competition in the industry will be much smaller – says Jerzy Wonka, Development Director at InfoCredit.
If you would like to follow how the condition of other industries changed in 2020, please contact us: media@infocredit.pl.