Messe Frankfurt holds its own in challenging times

Speaking at the Corporate Press Conference earlier today, Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Messe Frankfurt, said: “Messe Frankfurt is maintaining its status as one of the world’s leading organisers of trade fairs, congresses and other events with a wide international event portfolio. Our Group has a sound financial footing and, with its business model, remains capable of taking any necessary action, even in challenging times.” At the same time, Marzin indicated that conditions had changed considerably, as shown by the latest forecasts for the current financial year: “As trade fairs are invariably a reflection of the economy, even our flagship events are being affected by the escalation of global crises and conflicts and the sluggish economic situation in Germany and the EU.”

Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt, stressed that, particularly in economically challenging times, flagship events are “a reliable market partner for Messe Frankfurt’s customers that brings together international supply and global demand”. He also added: “Our strong brands provide orientation – especially when markets are under pressure. The high satisfaction levels among visitors to our Frankfurt flagship events in the current financial year reaffirm the value of face-to-face interaction as the core principle of our business model. As well as this, we are extending the scope of our trade fairs with digital touchpoints along the entire customer journey.”

Financial year 2025: solid result, stronger financial structure

In 2025, Messe Frankfurt’s sales were very high, in the region of €766 million (2024: €775 million). Of this figure, around €398 million was generated in Germany (2024: approx. €432 million) and around €368 million abroad (2024: approx. €343 million). This means that foreign business now accounts for as much as 48 percent of Group sales, underlining the importance of the Group’s international positioning for its resilience. Its foreign subsidiaries also performed very well and achieved an annual result of €71.4 million before consolidation, compared with €53.8 million in the previous year.

Balance sheet quality has also continued to improve, with equity increasing to €649.3 million. Following the repayment of long-term loans in the amount of €125.9 million, total debt has been reduced to €460 million. This means that the company’s gearing ratio has fallen from around 100 percent to 71 percent, while its equity ratio increased to roughly 52 percent. As a result, Messe Frankfurt remains financially flexible and in a position to take any necessary action, even in possible crisis scenarios.

In 2025, a total of 349 events were held worldwide under the Messe Frankfurt umbrella, attracting 4.8 million visitors in all – including 151 Messe Frankfurt trade fairs and guest events with around four million visitors. This is a very encouraging increase on the 3.9 million trade fair guests in the previous year. The main growth drivers here were the company’s Asian subgroup – represented in India, China, Japan and Korea – and its Dubai location.

Investments in digitalisation, sustainability and exhibition grounds

Transformation and investments remain central levers for the Group’s performance. In 2025, Messe Frankfurt invested around €80 million, of which roughly €45 million was channelled into intangible projects such as the Progress programme.

 As Wolfgang Marzin emphasised: “With Progress, the Group is modernising its digital infrastructure extensively and paving the way for more efficient processes, better services and new digital solutions.” Structural investments are also clearly visible at the company’s Frankfurt base: the new entrance on Europa-Allee will be officially opened in time for Automechanika in September, the Sparda Bank Tower will be available for us to use and the extension of the Via Mobile moving walkway from the new entrance to Hall 12 will help visitors to find their way around more easily and make their experience more enjoyable.

Together with growth, cost-effectiveness and business development, sustainability is another important corporate goal. Even though it is not mandatory until 2028, Messe Frankfurt is already reporting on its sustainability performance. The Group will be presenting an integrated report – consisting of its annual report and sustainability report – for the first time at the Corporate Press Conference.

Outlook for 2026/27: strong brands and overseas growth

As Wolfgang Marzin summed up: “The first half of 2026 makes it clear how relevant our flagship events in Frankfurt are as indispensable platforms for human interaction, innovation and generating new business – for our customers around the world and for Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main area as a business centre.” Light + Building and Techtextil and Texprocess all recorded visitor satisfaction levels of 95 percent, while exhibitors were extremely positive about the quality of visitors. Heimtextil and Nordstil also proved their stability in a volatile market environment and the three trade fairs Ambiente, Christmasworld and Creativeworld affirmed their pioneering role in a changing sector. For its new event, Eurobike is introducing a more compact, focused and cost-effective format.

The guest event business in Frankfurt also remains strong: over 216 events have been confirmed for 2026, including the Frankfurt Book Fair, CPhI, IMEX (which has extended its contract until 2030), the Tech Show Frankfurt and Routes World, which is being held on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds for the first time. One particular highlight is the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, taking place in the Festhalle in August.

A total of 359 events – including congresses and German pavilions – are being planned around the world, and so far 20 new trade fairs are to be launched by 2027.

Detlef Braun: “Our international portfolio is driving growth and going from strength to strength across all industry clusters.” For instance, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles attracted record numbers of participants, Beautyworld Japan increased its visitor count, ACMA Automechanika New Delhi registered high numbers of overseas participants, and ISH China & CIHE celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Detlef Braun cited a number of new events for the textile and consumer goods sector including Val:ue Milan, a new trade fair format for high-quality apparel textiles, which will be making its debut between 3 and 5 February 2027. And Messe Frankfurt will be further expanding its Beautyworld brand with the Beautyworld Summit, which will take place for the first time from 10 to 11 May 2027 in Grasse, France. New strategic partnerships in India are also being added to the portfolio: for example, Media Expo will be held in five major Indian cities in future. And with its premiere in Jakarta from 24 until 27 September 2026, Automechanika will now be represented in 16 countries worldwide.

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Background information on Messe Frankfurt: www.messefrankfurt.com/hintergrundinformationen
Sustainability at Messe Frankfurt: www.messefrankfurt.com/nachhaltigkeit-information