Hamburg Messe & Congress GmbH (HMC) posted a successful business year 2011. As scheduled according to the provisional estimate, the exhibition company and congress centre boosted its revenues to EUR 58.5 million, an increase of 7.5 percent in comparison to the reference year 2009 (EUR 54.4 million).
For Hamburg Messe & Congress this represents consistent continuation of the growth path on which it embarked in 2005. For 2012 the company expects a new earnings record.
Senator Frank Horch, head ofHamburg's economics, transport and innovation department, is also satisfied: "As the competent senator, I am particularly pleased that Hamburg Messe & Congress again succeeded last year in realising its planned growth. This demonstrates that HMC is on track. Its policy must now be continued and taken further forward."
"We have chosen the right course by focusing on top-level guest events, continuing to build up our own strong events and further developing highly specialised trade fairs," Bernd Aufderheide, the president and chief executive officer of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH, commented. "We are delighted to have been able to continue our successful progress in the 'odd' exhibition year 2011. The results show us that our strategy is the right one."
All in all in 2011, HMC rented out gross space of 812,351 square metres at 44 trade fairs and exhibitions (one of which was inNeustadtHarbour). The ten proprietary events and 34 guest events drew a total of 10,447 exhibitors and 670,667 visitors. 335,758 visitors to the CCH –Congress CenterHamburgattended 270 national and international meetings and congresses as well as cultural and gastro events.
HMC generated its best operating results – EUR 2.3 million – in a cyclically weaker, odd exhibition year. However, as a result of infrastructure investment in the exhibition site and the CCH conference centre, 2011 closed with a scheduled deficit of EUR 27.5 million.
"We are extremely satisfied with our performance. In 2011 we once again met our business plan, which sees us breaking even in 2016," Aufderheide summarised.
