Supervisory board of messe Frankfurt votes for new corporate structure/More revenues, exhibitors and visitors despite difficult economic situation

Frankfurt‚ Germany (ots) - At its meeting on 2 December, the Supervisory Board of Messe Frankfurt recommended that the shareholders approve the new corporate structure proposed by the Board of Management. CEO Michael von Zitzewitz is confident the shareholders will accept the recommendation. "The restructuring of Messe Frankfurt into a holding with two main subsidiaries, one for the venue and the other for events, will better enable us to meet future challenges."

Despite the difficult economic situation, the company continued to expand in 2002 with more exhibitors and visitors attending the 16 events organised by the company in Frankfurt: an estimated 25,700 exhibitors is almost 10 percent up on 2001. The proportion of foreign exhibitors rose to the record level of approximately 65 percent: a third came from Germany, a third from other European countries and a third from overseas.

918,400 visitors (+ 1.2 percent), almost a third from abroad, attended the company's events in Frankfurt last year.

The satisfactory course of business is also reflected by the revenues for 2002. At Euro 336 million, it is likely that Messe Frankfurt will exceed last year's record figure by six percent. The pre-tax result will be positive - about Euro 23 million - but, as expected, slightly lower than last year.

The company's foreign business was also good. The overseas subsidiaries held 48 events with 9,400 exhibitors and 640,000 visitors. With Paris, Shanghai and Moscow, Messe Frankfurt now has 14 foreign subsidiaries and an office in Dubai.

The programme for 2003 includes five new fairs at home and abroad. A glance at the first half year gives ground for optimism with almost all events reporting stable exhibitor figures and growing interest from abroad.

Pressekontakt:

Gabriele.wehrl@messefrankfurt.com

Tel: 069/7575-5625