Informa is a provider of professional information with a focus on academic and professional publishing, and informational events. Informa has 150 offices in 40 countries. The group changed the names of its three divisions for its 2013 report, to Academic Publishing, Business Intelligence and Global Events.

In this ranking, the academic and business divisions are surveyed, but not the events division.
Academic delivers books and journals to university libraries and the wider academic market, publishing 700 journal titles and 93,000 titles, including well known academic brands such as Taylor & Francis.

The Business Intelligence division creates content in a number of industry sectors with a special focus on niche customer segments.

Key Company Developments in 2013 & 2014

Financial
Informa’s group revenue for fiscal 2013 was up 2% as last year’s result was corrected from 1.23 billion GBP to 1.11 billion GBP, due to acquisitions and disposals related to Global Events.

Academic Publishing continued to perform well, with a particularly strong fourth quarter from sales in the US and Europe, though India was unable to maintain its expected growth due to the sharp depreciation in the rupee. Subscriptions represented 51% of revenue and gained by 2%, while hard copy sales increased by 5% and represented the remaining 49%. Academic Publishing accounted for 32% of continuing corporate revenue and 39% of continuing adjusted operating profit.

Business Intelligence noted lower revenue and profit in 2013 due to the transfer of medical books to Academic Publishing, along with lower renewals in high-margin subscriptions and lower revenue from consulting and one-off reports. In 2013, Business Intelligence accounted for 31% of continuing corporate revenue and 33% of continuing adjusted operating profit.

Ownership, mergers & acquisition, internal organization
After more than 25 years, Peter Rigby retired as CEO. The Board appointed Stephen Carter who previously served on the Board of Informa as an independent Non-Executive Director.
International

With 46%, Informa’s academic publishing arm generates the largest share of its revenue in North America, the followed the UK (16%) and Europe (excluding UK) 13%, with 25% covered by the rest of the world.

Digital
All journals and over 50,000 book titles are available digitally, including all new titles. Academic e-books account for 20% of book revenue, compared with 16% in 2012, while 90% of Business Intelligence’s revenue is generated from digital sales.

Informa continued to invest in new products and technology, including the South Asian Culture and History Archive, an online database that provides research and teaching materials. In September, Informa launched Cogent OA, a new open access publishing brand.

Earlier developments

Financial
In recent years, Informa saw continuous growth in revenues and profits, with a strategic shift toward renewable, subscription-based publishing and digital accounting for three quarters of its revenues.

Informa’s profit figures grew from 336 million GBP to 350 million GBP, despite an overall revenue decline due to a combination of disposals (Robbins Gioia and European Conference businesses) and proactive product pruning. The organic revenue decline was 1.2%.
The Academic Information division accounts for 28% of corporate revenue at 340 million GBP, up from 324 million GBP in 2011. The increase was fuelled by strong book sales in the U.S. and emerging markets.

The professional and commercial information division now accounts for 29% of group revenues. Its revenue dropped from 371 million GBP to 357 million GBP due to downsizing in the financial services industry and new regulations for banks. Profits were boosted by improvements and the full year of cost initiatives.

Ownership, mergers & acquisition, internal organization
In 2012, Informa acquired Focal Press and Hodder's list for the academic division. Zephyr Associates, Inc., a digital subscriptions business, was acquired in October for the professional and commercial information division. The most significant investments in 2012 was the re-launch of Datamonitor Healthcare Knowledge Centre. Healthcare business accounts for the biggest sector of this divison with 60% of segment revenue.

International
In 2012, 18% of revenue was generated in emerging markets, up from 14% last year, reflecting growth in Brazil, Middle East and Russia generated by Informa’s exhibition business. The largest regions are the Middle East (6% of revenue) and Latin America (4% of revenue). The Academic information division currently generates about 14% of its revenue from emerging markets, mainly India, China and Taiwan. A Chinese healthcare initiative is expected to drive international revenue for the professional and commercial information division, which currently has the lowest emerging market penetration at 8%.

Digital
Seventy-four percent of publishing revenues come from digital sales. The academic segment experienced a further shift towards digital products, aided by the re-launched academic platform T&F Online which carries all our digital academic content.

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