Emerald Holding, Inc., the owner and producer of the Outdoor Retailer and Surf Expo trade shows, reported that first-quarter 2023 revenues were $122.3 million, an increase of 24.2 percent versus the first quarter 2022, driven by revenue growth in events that staged in both periods as well revenue from three events that staged in the first quarter of 2023 but staged later last year.

First quarter 2023 Organic Revenues, a non-GAAP measure, which takes into account the impact of acquisitions and scheduling adjustments, were $122.1 million, an increase of 17.0 percent versus the first quarter 2022, due primarily to a $17.4 million increase in revenues from events that traded in both periods, $1.2 million from increased subscription software revenues and $0.3 million from newly launched events and partially offset by softness in other marketing services.

First quarter 2023 net income was $7.1 million, compared to $16.1 million for the first quarter 2022.

First quarter 2023 Adjusted EBITDA was $36.5 million, compared to $49.3 million for the first quarter 2022. Excluding event cancellation insurance proceeds, first quarter 2023 Adjusted EBITDA was $36.5 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA ex-insurance of $25.6 million for the first quarter 2022.

Hervé Sedky, Emerald’s president and CEO, said, “Emerald is off to an excellent start in 2023, with strong demand from exhibitors and attendees, contributing to the ongoing rebound in live events. The business continues to benefit from strong post-COVID-19 tailwinds across our business that we expect to persist well beyond 2023. In addition, the work we’ve done to grow the business through strategic acquisitions, operational efficiencies, and product enhancements have made us both a larger and more dynamic organization. Notably, we have an exciting pipeline of new event launches that leverage our scale and expertise in must attend live events and further our strategy of targeting new audiences in high-growth industries. Moving forward, we expect that our customers and shareholders alike will benefit from the new and improved Emerald as we continue to deliver premium marketing value to customers and attractive cash flow growth to investors.”

David Doft, Emerald’s CFO, added, “As we cycle past the prior-year COVID-19 impacts, we believe that our results are beginning to reflect the true embedded growth potential of the Emerald platform. This quarter, we delivered 17 percent year-over-year growth in Organic Revenue and 30 percent Adjusted EBITDA margins. Looking ahead, we have multiple levers to drive substantial revenue growth as well as margin improvement through higher attendee counts, increased demand for exhibitor space, enhancements to Emerald’s product offering, and strategic acquisitions. During the first quarter, we took advantage of a dislocation in the share price to repurchase 5.1 million shares of common stock. Along with acquisitions and continued investments into our business, this is yet another example of where we are deploying capital in areas where it can most effectively drive value for shareholders.”

Operational Highlights

  • Post-COVID recovery cycle driving continued growth in exhibitor and attendee counts;
  • Successfully staged 35 in-person trade shows, conferences and other events in the first quarter as the Company builds back from the COVID-19 pandemic and customers eagerly returned to in-person events; and
  • Acquired Lodestone Events, producer of the successful Overland Expo series of vehicle-based, adventure travel consumer shows, in January 2023 for initial cash consideration of $9.5 million.

Emerald ended the quarter with $217.3 million in cash and full availability of its $110.0 million revolving credit facility

For the full year 2023, the company continues to expect to generate in excess of $400 million of revenue and $100 million of Adjusted EBITDA