Emerald Holding Inc., the operator of Outdoor Retailer and other trade shows, reported revenues of $86.5 million for the second quarter, an increase of 21.1 percent year-over-year, primarily due to growth in staged events.
Organic revenues, which take into account the impact of acquisitions and scheduling adjustments, reached $79.2 million for the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 11.1 percent.
The net loss of $8.1 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to a net loss of $0.7 million for the second quarter of 2022.
Adjusted EBITDA of $14.6 million was down slightly from $15.6 million for the second quarter of 2022. Adjusted EBITDA excluding insurance proceeds of $14.6 million compared to $7.5 million for the second quarter of 2022.
For the full year 2023, Emerald continues to expect to generate in excess of $400 million of revenue and $100 million of adjusted EBITDA.
Hervé Sedky, Emerald’s President and CEO, said, “The strong recovery in live events is continuing to drive double-digit growth at Emerald, with highly positive trends in both attendees and pricing. The work we’ve done to drive scale and efficiency by centralizing key functions and investing in our technological capabilities has made Emerald a powerful platform for both internal and external growth. By leveraging the investments we’ve already made, we expect to continue to drive both substantial revenue growth as well as meaningful margin improvement in this year and next. Our recent expansion into consumer live events, including NBA Con and the popular Overland Expo series, is helping to unlock new audiences for Emerald that will complement our core B2B portfolio. In addition, our investment into value-add products like our Elastic e-commerce software suite is driving ever greater value for our customers, which we expect to become a meaningful contributor to our strong cash flow generation over time.”
David Doft, Emerald’s CEO, added, “Our outlook this year implies a more than 20 percent year-over-year increase in revenue and a 76 percent year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA, reflecting both the strength of the recovery and our significant operating leverage. As we continue to closely monitor the current economic environment, we are pre-booking shows into the third quarter of 2024, giving us visibility into future revenues and confidence in the continued positive trends in attendance and pricing. In addition to the organic growth benefits, our investments into technology and centralizing key functions also contribute to our advantage in the M&A market, where the scale and operational efficiencies of Emerald’s platform make us a highly compelling consolidator in a fragmented market.”
Emerald traditionally has hosted over 140 yearly events in the outdoor lifestyle space, including Outdoor Retailer, Surf Expo, The Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show, Impressions, Swim Collective, and Active Collective.
