The firm said it is bullish about the future of the exhibition industry.
"UBM's performance in the first half of 2009 was satisfactory in the context of a tough worldwide economic environment and extremely challenging conditions in a number of our markets," said United Business Media CEO David Levin.
"Forward bookings for our major events for the second half of the year are running 5.9% ahead, demonstrating the continued strong performance of our key tradeshow franchises, even during a period of acute economic pressure."
The FTSE 250 firm added that it was looking to acquire businesses over the next 12 months and the market seemed impressed, resulting in the double-digit share rise.
The results contrast with competitor Reed Elsevier, which posted a revenue rise of 3%, but suggested "advertising and promotion markets continue to be impacted by recession".
Reed's results, posted earlier than UBM's, resulted in a share dip across the listed exhibition firms as Reed admitted its Reed Exhibitions arm was being "impacted as customers cut back" and by "major biennial shows cycling out".
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