Adjusted for biennial exhibitions and acquisitions, Tarsus Group saw in the first half of 2014 a like-for-like revenue increase of 9 percent to £23.1 million ($39.1 million). During the same period in 2013, Tarsus had revenues of £26 million ($44 million).

Despite shows such as the biennial Dubai Air Show not being in the mix this year, the company’s revenues have shown positive growth.

Driving those results are the “emerging markets - Dubai (GESS in particular) and our Hope business in China. In Europe, our Labels and French business both produced good numbers,” according to Douglas Emslie, Tarsus Group’s managing director.

Adjusted profit before tax for the first half of 2014 was £3 million ($5 million), which was a decrease from £3.9 million ($6.6 million) during the same half last year, but a big increase from the comparable half in 2012, which was £1.8 million ($3 million).

"Tarsus has delivered a solid performance in what is the quietest six months for trading in our two-year cycle,” Emslie said.

He added, "We are continuing to progress our Quickening the Pace’ strategy, which has seen us make a number of strategic acquisitions in the last year, as well as accelerate launch activity as we seek to replicate some of our leading brands internationally.”

Here are some first-half 2014 highlights:

·         Tarsus' education event in Dubai, GESS, performed strongly with positive visitor attendance and revenues up 37 percent.

·         In Turkey, the largest event, Ideal Homex, in April showed good year-on-year growth.

·         There was a positive performance at Mexico’s Expo Manufactura, the country’s premier metalworking/manufacturing exhibition, which took place in March 2014.

·         The February 2014 Off Price show in Las Vegas was a strong event, with good visitor growth.

The second half of the year looks to be going in the right direction, with Labelexpo Americas, Zuchex and MEBA trending well.

Next year also looks to be a busy one for the company. Besides several new launches already in the works, Tarsus Group also acquired a 60-percent stake in the 3D Printshow portfolio, which has events in London, Paris and New York.

“3D printing has great synergies with our aerospace, medical, printing and manufacturing events,” Emslie said.

As part of the continued partnership with E.J. Krause, the 3D Printshow will have an edition in Mexico in 2015 collocated with Expo Manufactura.

The 3D Printshow portfolio continues to be led by its founder, Kerry Hogarth, who retains a material interest in the business.

“This acquisition represents a fantastic opportunity to enter this exciting sector,” Emslie said. “We look forward to working with Kerry to continue building this market-leading brand into new geographies and vertical markets.”

Hogarth added, “We’re really excited to have been chosen by Tarsus. With the growing international audience for 3D printing, it’s an incredible time to invest and develop our brand.”