For the year ending 31 December 2014, annual revenue for events was reported as £429.2m. The company attributed the success of events to a strong performance from business in emerging markets.
Overall revenue was down 6% from £793.9m in 2013 to £746.3m last year. Adjusted operating profit also dipped 3.5% to £179.8m, however statutory operating profit was up 29.6% to £169.6m.
UBM stated the results were "in line with management expectations". It attributed the fall in revenue to "a currency headwind, a rationalisation of its other marketing services and lower biennial revenues".
December saw the company complete its acquisition on Advanstar to reinforce its position as a leading events organiser in the US. , which will see the business actively grow its B2B events positioning in the marketplace
Robert Gray, acting chief executive officer, said: "These results represent a good performance in a year of significant strategic progress. Although the reported results reflect currency headwinds, the group delivered good underlying revenue growth in both events and the PR Newswire service, and solid operating margins in each of our three segments.
"The acquisition of Advanstar accelerates our Events First strategy. This clear and well-defined strategy has been embraced by the business and we have already made good progress during the first two months of 2015. The Advanstar integration is on track and trading in the first couple of months of the year has started well."
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