Messe Frankfurt increases Group sales to €780 million

In financial year 2024, Messe Frankfurt successfully solidified its market position and geared itself up for future challenges. Mike Josef, Chairman of the Messe Frankfurt Supervisory Board and Mayor of Frankfurt, was very happy with the Group’s results: “With its strong portfolio, Messe Frankfurt has once again generated enormous momentum in this financial year – not only globally but also at its Frankfurt base, as an economic driving force and as a creator of jobs. Messe Frankfurt’s future-oriented positioning as a provider of digital infrastructure for event organisers is also progressing very well. It is important for the City of Frankfurt to help strengthen our reputation as a trade fair centre and also to fully support Messe Frankfurt’s commitment to sustainability.”

With sound key growth areas and a worldwide operation running in top gear, Messe Frankfurt is set to achieve its annual target and to end the reporting year 2024 with excellent financial figures. On presenting the Group’s preliminary figures for financial year 2024, Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Messe Frankfurt, stressed: “At present, we expect consolidated sales for the year to be in the region of €780 million (2023: €609 million) – 28 percent more than in the previous year.” This is the highest level of sales ever recorded by a German trade fair company. In the year that is drawing to an end, consolidated sales in Germany are in the region of €442 million. Among other things, this can be attributed to successful flagship events being held in a year in which a high number of Group events are scheduled to take place because of the rotation of events. This means that Messe Frankfurt generates roughly as much sales revenue in Germany as the other German trade fair companies generate on average at home and abroad together. The event business outside Germany has been very lively indeed, accounting for approximately 43 percent of Group sales, which clearly underlines the relevance of the Group’s global growth strategy.

Following the strong operating business, the Group result is – based on provisional figures – set to increase to more than €50 million (2023: €18.5 million). “With this substantial cushion, we are even better positioned to repay the loans that we arranged during the pandemic. It also means that we have the reserves we need for further investments in modernising our processes and IT systems, in the Group’s sustainable transformation, in future challenges in our business operations and, of course, in our employees”, stressed Marzin, adding: “We aim to continue growing in the coming financial year 2025 as well and, if everything carries on in this positive vein, we have our sights set on achieving Group sales of around €800 million.”

Key growth areas: Core business, digitalisation and sustainability

By the end of the financial year, more than 330 events will have been held worldwide under the Messe Frankfurt umbrella, playing host to over 98,000 companies and an estimated 4.4 million visitors. As Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt, noted: “Face-to-face interaction is absolutely essential for building up and cultivating business relationships, particularly in the face of the many economic challenges and global market shifts. Healthy growth, very high satisfaction and record levels of internationality at our Group events all point to the strength of our brands and their importance for their communities.” On average, almost 83 percent of all exhibiting companies and around 57 percent of trade buyers at our Frankfurt-based events come from outside Germany.

Messe Frankfurt has an expansion strategy tailored specially for the Group – proven fertile ground for sustainable growth. On the subject of the company’s strategic orientation, Wolfgang Marzin explained: “We are concentrating on our core business, on our brands and services, and on the central challenges that are digitalisation and sustainability.

Both of these are complex strategic topics within the Group that are inextricably linked.” Braun adds: “We are investing in Germany and abroad, further expanding the core segments at our Frankfurt flagship events and launching new strategic development areas.” Bookings for the company’s second core area of expertise, the guest event business, were also high in financial year 2024. More than 200 trade fairs, conferences, congresses and other guest events are taking place here on our Frankfurt exhibition grounds. The demand for Messe Frankfurt locations is on a par with pre-pandemic levels again and around 150 events are already under contract for 2025.

The company is pursuing its strategic market cultivation as part of its worldwide portfolio expansion. In continuing its geodiversification activities, it is also looking at potential new markets to add to its usual key regions. In Asia, where Messe Frankfurt has been operating for over 35 years with some 60 trade fairs in eleven sector clusters, new events are being launched in Central Asia and in the ASEAN region. Detlef Braun: “And in the highly competitive US market, we are also expanding our expertise in the Textiles, Mobility & Logistics, and Technology sectors, taking into account geographic diversification.”

Messe Frankfurt is continuing to work towards a sustainable transformation by implementing systematic measures. In the reporting year, it has reached important milestones and set new wheels in motion. Messe Frankfurt completed its EMAS validation in mid-November. The company has been certified by EMAS since 2023. The second EMAS environmental status report for 2024 will be published in a few days’ time. Messe Frankfurt is actively tracking its emissions for the first time and recording the CO₂ drivers at its Frankfurt base with a view to reporting on greenhouse gas emissions. Wolfgang Marzin: “Data collection is now complete at our Frankfurt base. In the next step, we will be devoting ourselves to our international locations. And finally, we are pre-empting the sustainability reporting requirements that the new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will be introducing as of financial year 2025 and are already carrying out a test run for financial year 2024.” In addition, the company will be expanding its partnership with longstanding global logistics provider DSV to work on a sustainable transformation of trade fair logistics using specific measures.

Messe Frankfurt is looking ahead to the coming financial year with optimism and has paved the way for further growth.