Informa has maintained its forecast for double-digit underlying earnings growth in 2026 despite escalating disruption to events in the Middle East, but warned that full-year revenue growth could slow to around 3% if Saudi Arabia contributes no further revenue this year.

The FTSE 100 events group reported underlying revenue growth of 6.5% in the nine months to 30 September, excluding non-recurring data contracts, supported by continued demand for business-to-business events. However, its previous revenue growth guidance of around 6% is now at risk because of further event postponements in the Middle East.

The B2B Live Events division recorded underlying growth of 8%, with strength across the Americas, Europe and ASEAN, as well as parts of the Middle East, India and Africa. Academic Markets grew 4%, while Informa TechTarget revenues fell 1.6% as enterprise technology customers prioritised artificial intelligence investment over marketing and sales support.

Informa said its rescheduling programme had enabled more than 50 brands in the Middle East, India and Africa region to trade this year, generating more than $530m in revenue. However, recent disruption in Saudi Arabia has forced further changes, including the postponement of Cityscape Global to January 2027 and the move of the physical Global Health Exhibition to October 2027, with this year’s edition switching to a virtual format.

CEO Stephen Carter said: “”Informa continues to deliver strong performance and underlying growth. Strong underlying demand for B2B Live Events, combined with the strength of our Brands and operating flexibility, is enabling us to deliver consistent growth and performance, and our international breadth is limiting the impact of specific in-market disruptions.”

The recent Clarion Events deal remains on track to complete in the first two weeks of December, adding more than 100 event brands to Informa’s portfolio and strengthening its presence in North America, Asia and Europe.

Informa shares fell 1.9% to £8.18 in early trading on Tuesday.

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