With more than 470 (and growing) events, Reed Exhibitions is reporting steady financial increases for 2011—$261.6 million in earnings—-squashing rumors that parent company Reed Elsevier would separate or divest its business divisions.
 
“We have no plans to divest any of our five major operating business areas. We have no plans to divest our main events business,” Erik Engstrom, Reed Elsevier’s CEO, told the Financial Times Thursday. “We expect to continue to make small disposals within all of our five main operating divisions, just as we have over the past two years. And we expect to dispose of businesses that we don’t think are aligned to the strategic direction that we want to go.”
 
For the company’s event division, revenues were up to $1.1 billion, an increase of about $21.9 million over 2010 or 2 percent. The company’s adjusted operating profit for the event division in 2011 was $261.6 million, a boost of $14.1 million, or 6 percent, from the year earlier.
 
“The net cycling out of biennial shows held back growth in 2011,” Reed Elsevier says in a news release. “Excluding biennial cycling, underlying revenue growth was 10 percent, with good growth across all geographies. New launch activity was accelerated, and we have made a number of selective acquisitions which have increased our presence in high growth markets.”
 
The events division is seemingly heavily dependent on even-years, as revealed by Reed Exhibitions Chairman Mike Rusbridge (pictured).
 
“If you look at 2010, which is the last full statement by Reed Elsevier, Reed Exhibitions accounted for approximately 11 percent of their total revenues. In terms of what are our prospects for the next year or two, we have the advantage,” he told EXPOin December. “We are a cyclical business, and that means we have a significant cycling element of odd and even years. If one looks at the actual year-on-year growth from 2010 to 2011, it’s looking fairly modest because we had a fairly significant cycling out year in 2011. We’re looking at record revenue growth in 2012.”
 
The events division is definitely looking ahead—and at other geographic markets. While Reed Elsevier’s North American revenue declined by $84, and Europe bled another $36 million in 2011—outside those regions, Reed Elsevier’s revenues rose $87 million last year.
 
South America and Asia, Rusbridge told EXPO, will increasingly become a dominant part of the company’s portfolio.
 
“We are definitely looking to extend the balance of our business—and our target is a 65/35 split between Western economies and other high-growth emerging markets,” Rusbridge said. “Why are we expanding into other markets? It’s sort of stating the blindingly obvious: The rates of growth and opportunities in emerging markets are, frankly, better by-and-large than we’re likely to enjoy in America or Europe.”

Elsevier B-To-B Health

Meanwhile, Reed Elsevier’s U.S. b-to-b content division Reed Business Information [RBI] had a strong 2011. Revenue was down slightly at $1.08 billion, falling three percent from 2010’s $1.12 billion. However, the sector’s adjusted operating spiked 23 percent. In 2010, RBI had an adjusted operating profit of $139.25 million; in 2011, the number shot up to $172.35 million.

According to the company, RBI’s portfolio (which represents 7 percent of Reed Elsevier’s adjusted operating profit) was “rebalanced towards data services, driven by organic growth and acquisitions of Accuity, CBI China and Ascend.”

The company has a positive outlook for 2012, predicting “good growth in core data services businesses off set by softness in print advertising.”