(Reuters) - ITE Group Plc said on Wednesday booked revenue was 18 percent higher for the financial year 2020, as the exhibition organiser's turnaround plan to add more high-profile events begins to pay off.
ITE has bought several events, including Mining Indaba, the world's largest mining investment conference, after setting a three-year turnaround plan in 2017, following the cancellation of some events due to the unrest in Turkey and the scrapping of high-value banknotes in India.
"Investments into products and operational improvements are driving growth, despite some known headwinds including Brexit and macro-economic issues in Turkey and their resulting currency impacts," ITE said in a statement.
The company also said revenue was up 42 percent to about 107 million pounds for the six months ended March 2019, with forward bookings at about 89 percent of current market expectations for the full year.
Performance of ITE, which was founded in 1991 and runs exhibitions and conferences in countries including Russia, India and China, was helped by core events such as Africa Oil Week and YugAgro.
The firm bought a portfolio including Africa Oil Week and moved into Africa in 2015 after it was hit by a plunging Russian rouble and political upheaval in Ukraine in 2014.
(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
