Earnings: GES and Spiro Report Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth in Q1

May 7, 2024

Viad Corp., a global provider of business event management and experiential marketing services, reported first quarter (Q1) 2024 revenues of $273.5 million, an increase of $12.7 million or 4.9% from Q1 2023.

For Q1, GES, which includes Spiro, reported revenues of $236.3 million, compared with $228.1 million in the same period last year. GES reported an increase of $8.1 million or 3.6% year-over-year, which the company attributed to continued underlying growth that more than offset a $4 million decline due to the timing of major non-annual shows.

Context: GES is a global exhibition management and experiential marketing company offering a range of services to event organizers and brands through GES Exhibitions and Spiro. GES Exhibitions is a global exhibition and trade show management business that partners with exhibition and conference organizers as a full-service provider of strategic and logistics solutions throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East. Spiro is a global experiential marketing agency that partners with brands around the world to manage and elevate their experiential marketing activities.

GES Show
Questex’s International Beauty Show and the International Esthetics, Cosmetics, & Spa Conference were held March 3-5 at the Javits Convention Center in New York.

Q1 trade shows: From January to March, GES produced a number of major U.S. trade shows, including: 

Recent activations: In recent months, Spiro worked with a number of global brands to produce events and activations, including:

Future Proof
Future Proof was held held Sept. 10-13, 2023, in Huntington Beach, Calif.
  • Metamates event for 6,000 Meta employees in London. Read more about the program here.
  • Partnering with SAUDI AIRLINES & CSM Sport & Entertainment, Spiro delivered an exhilarating fan experience and brought bespoke content to life for 25,000 excited race fans at Formula E’s Diriyah E-Prix.
  • Last fall, GES produced Future Proof: The World’s First Wealth Management Festival, held Sept. 10-13, 2023, in Huntington Beach, Calif. Read more about the event here.

Deeper dive: GES adjusted EBITDA of $18.9 million increased $2.2 million year-over-year, which company officials said was primarily due to higher revenue and improved margin. Viad invested $20.7 million in capital expenditures for Q1, including $4.3 million for GES.

What they are saying: Steve Moster, Viad’s president and CEO, commented, “We delivered solid first quarter results that were in line with our expectations. GES continues to deliver strong profitable growth, with a 70 basis point year-over-year improvement in its Adjusted EBITDA margin.”

Steve Moster, GES
Steve Moster, GES

ENN Related: EARNINGS: GES AND SPIRO PARENT COMPANY VIAD POSITIVE ON 2024 AFTER DOUBLE-DIGIT REVENUE GROWTH IN Q4 2023 

2024 Outlook: GES expects revenues of $260-$280 million, with EBITDA of $34.5 to $38.5 million for Q2 and revenues up in the low double-digits for the full year with EBITDA of $80 to $90 million.

Looking ahead: "With accelerating business activity ahead and signs of robust demand for our extraordinary experiences at both Pursuit and GES, our favorable full year outlook remains unchanged,” Moster said. “We continue to expect year-over-year consolidated adjusted EBITDA growth of approximately 16% to 30% in 2024 with strong free cash flow.”

 

 

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