• Best sales figures in the history of Messe München and the Messe München Group
• Record: 34,500 exhibitors from 96 countries
• 2.4 million visitors from 211 countries
• Above-average proportion of exhibitors and visitors from outside Germany

2007 brought Messe München GmbH (MMG) new records in exhibitor and visitor numbers, exhibition space booked, sales and result. The main contributors to this success were the large leading international trade fairs, ispo Winter, BAU, Inhorgenta, bauma, transport logistic, Laser, Golf Europe, EXPO REAL and Productronica as well as ITMA, a guest event, all of which achieved outstanding results.

The programme of events in Munich in 2007 encompassed 16 events organised by Messe München GmbH, six events by Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen (GHM), plus a further 244 guest events, held in the halls of the New Munich Trade Fair Centre, in the International Congress Centre München (ICM) and in the M,O,C, Order and Events Centre. These events will bring the final figures for sales at Messe München GmbH to provisionally € 266 million euros (2006: € 182.2 million), which is € 22 million above forecast. This is the best result in the history of Messe München.

The Messe München Group will also set a new record for consolidated sales, reaching over € 300 million (2006: € 212.4 million). Included in the Group sales is revenue from the subsidiary companies, Internationaler Messe- und Ausstellungsdienst GmbH (IMAG) and Meplan GmbH, and income from the foreign subsidiaries. The activities abroad accounted for € 20.5 million of Group sales.

The operational result for 2007 for Messe München GmbH before taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) will provisionally come in at € 78 million, a rise of € 16 million above forecast and a new record. After interest, taxes and depreciation a break-even result was achieved. For the first time since the exhibition centre moved to Munich-Riem, the result shows an accounting surplus of over € 10 million after earnings tax. However, the surplus will be completely taken up by the first possible interest payment for the loans from the shareholders, which means that a break-even result will be achieved for the year.

In 2007 over 34,500 companies from 96 countries came to exhibit their products and services at events in Munich, more than ever before (2006: 31,314). When compared to the last time the events organised by Messe München GmbH were held, the increase in exhibitor numbers overall had been seven percent (German average: + 3%). In terms of exhibitors from within Germany, the increase had been five percent (German average: + 1%). The proportion of exhibitors from outside Germany at the events organised by Messe München GmbH was 46 percent, an increase of ten percent as compared to the last time these events were held (German average: + 4.5%). Particularly high proportions of exhibitors from abroad were registered at ispo Winter with 85 percent, ITMA with 77 percent, Golf Europe with 64 percent, ispo Sport & Style with 62 percent and bauma and Laser, each with 54 percent.

The provisional figure for visitor numbers in 2007 is over 2.4 million from 211 countries (2006: over 2.2. million). When compared to the last time these events were held, visitor numbers at events organised by Messe München GmbH had rise by ten percent (German average: + 2.5%); six percent more visitors were counted from Germany. The proportion of visitors from abroad at the events organised by Messe München GmbH was 32 percent. When compared to the last time these events were held, the number of foreign visitors had risen by 24 percent. Particularly high proportions of foreign visitors were recorded at ITMA with 80 percent, ispo Winter with 64 percent, Golf Europe with 50 percent, Laser and ispo Sports & Style, each with 47 percent, and Productronica with 45 percent.

In terms of space, too, 2007 proved to be a record year: almost 2.8 million square metres of space (gross) was booked (2006: over 2.3 million square metres). In relation to the gross hall space available at the Munich venue, this represents a turnover of space of 13 times.

The International Congress Center Munich (ICM) was able to further consolidate its position among the five leading congress centres in Germany. The ICM is a premium location, in particular for major congresses for medicine, for leading events for the pharmaceuticals sector and for annual general meetings of stock-market-listed companies.

The M,O,C, Events Centre can also look back on a very successful year in 2007. It expanded its product portfolio to include new, internationally oriented trade fairs – for example, oils+fats, the premiere of which met with an excellent response – and successfully expanded already established events to produce one of the best results since the centre was opened in 1993. As a result it further underlined its expertise as a specialist events centre. Overall the number of events held at the M,O,C, remained the same as in 2006, at around 150; these events attracted over 346,000 visitors (2006: 365,970).

In its core segments of sports, sportstyle and shoe fashions, the M,O,C, Order Centre further expanded its market leadership in 2007. With total let space of 15,690 square metres net (2006: 14,678), the order centre achieved almost full occupancy levels, and this looks set to remain so in the coming years. Over 500 leading brands in sports shoes, sporting fashion and shoes use the M,O,C, Order Centre as a dynamic business centre and platform for communication and presentation.

In 2007 the Building Centre in Poing expanded its programme of lectures from 220 in 2006 to over 300 information events, on the themes of ‘Buying and developing a building plot’, ‘All you need to know about building a home’, ‘Homes for the future’ and ‘Designing home interiors’. 3,270 people attended the lectures, which is over 30 percent more than in 2006. In total around 80,000 visitors came along in 2007 to visit this largest show-homes exhibition in Bavaria.

Meplan GmbH, which has been a subsidiary of Messe München GmbH and Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen (GHM) since 2002, further expanded its position as a full-service supplier for trade fairs. With a total turnover of over € 22 million the company will clearly exceed the record figures set in 2006, thanks to a very strong year for trade fairs in 2007.

The Shanghai New International Expo Centre continued its success story in 2007. A total of 75 events attracted over 57,000 exhibitors and around three million visitors to the centre. Sales for 2007 are set to come in at US$ 58 million, which is a rise of US$ 5 million over 2006.

At the present status of planning, 31 larger trade fairs and exhibitions are set to be organised in Munich in 2008, among them 15 events organised by Messe München GmbH, six by the Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen and ten large guest events. Because of the particular combination of events in the portfolio in 2008, sales figures for 2008 are not expected to match those of 2007. Messe München GmbH is expecting sales to reach around € 183 million.