RX saw revenues grow 64% in the past year, the latest annual report from parent company RELX has shown.

The London-headquartered global exhibition organiser welcomed more than 4.1 million people to 254 face-to-face events in 2022.

The exhibitions segment made up 11% of the wider business – and generated adjusted operating profits of £162m (up from £10m in 2021).
Overall RELX generated revenues of £8.5bn, with an operating profit of £2.6bn, an increase of 21% on 2021.

In relation to RX, the report said; “2022 was a year of recovery, with the revenue performance of events relative to pre-Covid equivalents improving through the year, and a number of events such as JCK, Infosecurity Europe and Cannes Yachting Festival trading above pre-pandemic levels. By the end of the year, RX was operating without disruption in almost all geographies.

“RX continued to grow the number of digital products and their usage by customers in 2022. As face-to-face revenues recovered, digital products grew strongly in 2022 with electronic accounting for 7% of revenue.”

Revenues for the year ended 31 December 2022 were £953m compared with £534m in 2021 and £362m in 2020. In 2022, 19% of RX’s revenue came from North America, 47% from Europe and the remaining 34% from the rest of the world on an event location basis.

They said they expect 2023 to be a year of strong underlying revenue growth, benefiting from structurally lower cost base, with margins expected to be close to pre-pandemic levels.

RX said they were positioned for further growth and that their broad geographical footprint and sector coverage would allow it to respond to changes in global trade and capture growth opportunities.

The report continued; “Organic growth will be achieved by continuing to generate greater customer value by combining the best of face-to-face events with data and digital tools and platforms. RX will continue to seek organic growth through launches that are tightly focused on industries and geographies that are best placed for long term growth.”

The company, which employs 3,000 staff worldwide, said long-term success will focus on:

  • Organic growth by combining the best of face-to-face events with data and digital tools and platforms and launches focused on industries and geographies that are best placed for long term growth.
  • Operational efficiency: RX’s global technology platforms and more specialist functions will allow them to accelerate revenue growth, while controlling costs and embedding sustainability, they said.
  • RX said it actively continues to shape its portfolio through a combination of new launches, strategic partnerships and selective acquisitions in faster growing sectors and geographies

Commenting on the group’s overall results RELX chief executive officer, Erik Engstrom, said:

The improving long-term growth trajectory is being driven by the ongoing shift in our business mix towards higher growth analytics and decision tools that deliver enhanced value to our customers across market segments.
We also performed well on our corporate responsibility priorities during the year, making good progress with our unique contributions to society, further improving our key performance metrics, and again being recognised by a number of external agencies through high ESG ratings.”