Koelnmesse defies the economic downturn and launches into a strong 2025 financial year

• Company shows solid results for 2024 with turnover of around 365 million euro and a profit of around 20 million euro

• More than 2.1 million visitors from 197 countries and 34,500 exhibitors from 106 countries confirm Koelnmesse's global market position

• Koelnmesse makes significant progress in developing its trade fair grounds, expanding its international trade fair business and improving its sustainability

• Double award: Koelnmesse is "Company of the Year" 2024 and 2025, achieving first place among all German trade fair companies

Based on preliminary figures, Koelnmesse achieved turnover amounting to around 365 million euro and profit of around 20 million euro in 2024, the year of its 100th anniversary, thus remaining on a solid path. "Our 100th anniversary was an extraordinary year that reminded us of our origins and at the same time allowed us to look to the future," explains Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse GmbH. "Our results impressively demonstrate stability and resilience in a challenging market environment. "For Koelnmesse, the year 2024 was characterised by significant progress at the Cologne trade fair grounds, expansion of international business, and the topic of sustainability. The highlights included the grand opening of the new Confex conference and exhibition centre, further strategic international expansion and pioneering measures on the way to making the entire company and its own trade fairs more resource-efficient by 2030.

According to preliminary figures, Koelnmesse generated turnover of around 365 million euro in the 2024 event year. As a result, it fell slightly short of its own forecast of 369.5 million euro in the cyclically weaker event year. Net profit is expected to be around 20 million euro, following a record operating result of 42 million euro in the previous year. Koelncongress, the wholly owned subsidiary responsible for the guest event, congress, and event business, contributed 38 million euro to group revenue in 2024 before consolidation.

The company attributes the slight deviation from its revenue projections to several factors. These include the continuing slump in consumption, general economic stagnation and geopolitical uncertainty. "Trade fairs always reflect the markets in which exhibitors operate and these markets are currently under immense pressure," says Gerald Böse, assessing the past financial year. "The challenges of the market tested us, but also encouraged us to make our processes even more efficient and to tap into new trade fair markets," says Böse, looking ahead to the coming years.

In 2024, the trade fair industry also faced challenging conditions that put considerable pressure on Germany as a trade fair hub, renowned for its high standards including infrastructure, transportation and punctuality. Repeated work stoppages in local public transport, four of which were in the first quarter alone, had a noticeable impact on the travel and mobility of trade fair visitors and exhibitors. "These disruptions not only resulted in logistical problems, but also cast a negative light on the reliability of the infrastructure, which is usually considered a strength of our trade fair location," says Gerald Böse.

More than 34,500 exhibiting companies from 106 countries and more than 2.1 million visitors from 197 countries took part in the 76 events organised by Koelnmesse worldwide. The trade fair highlights in Cologne included the leading international trade fairs ISM, spoga+gafa, gamescom, DMEXCO and ORGATEC. "Our annual events in 2024 consistently achieved the levels of the previous events and we maintained or even improved on the excellent figures of 2023," says Oliver Frese, COO of Koelnmesse. "We performed significantly better at our biennial events last year than we did in 2022."

Looking ahead

Koelnmesse has a positive outlook for 2025. Anuga, which takes place in October, is already fully booked and both the trade fair duo FSB and aquanale as well as IDS (International Dental Show) and INTERZUM have already significantly exceeded the number of registrations for the same period of the previous event.

At the same time, Oliver Frese emphasises the challenges of the coming trade fair years: "Many exhibiting companies will remain loyal to us, but in some cases are planning smaller exhibition spaces due to budget constraints. This means our events will continue to grow, but not as quickly as originally expected. This requires us to plan ahead and be flexible in order to continue to create an attractive offering."

For the coming year, Koelnmesse plans to continue setting the course for sustainable event developments and tapping into new markets. "With a clear focus on our core strengths and the support of our dedicated teams, we are ideally positioned to continue our success story," concludes Frese. In addition to a total of ten debut events planned for 2025 in Germany and abroad, Koelnmesse redesigned its events in the furniture and furnishings sector in 2024 in cooperation with the furniture industry. Starting in 2025, Koelnmesse will offer two specialised trade fair formats: idd cologne, a platform for the high-end sector, which will take place every two years in October, and imm cologne, a B2B event for the consumer-oriented market, which will be held annually in January starting in 2026.

Strategic steps in internationalisation

Another focus in 2024 was the targeted strengthening of our international presence. By engaging in new partnerships and intensified activities in global markets, Koelnmesse has raised the internationalisation of its business to a new level. This progress is reflected in new locations and event formats that make the Koelnmesse brand even more visible worldwide. A total of 21 trade fairs have been implemented abroad since 2023, with eight premieres in 2024 and nine more currently scheduled for 2025.

As an outstanding example of the international expansion of successful formats from Cologne, gamescom latam celebrated its debut in São Paulo in June 2024 and, with over 100,000 visitors, achieved the highest number ever recorded for a Koelnmesse event abroad.

German Pavilion 2025: expertise for a sustainable future

Koelnmesse is contributing its expertise and extensive Expo experience on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action to organise the German Pavilion in 2025 for the fourth time this millennium. Focusing on "circular economy", the pavilion presents innovative approaches to sustainable construction. This is impressively embodied by the round buildings, which themselves serve as an exhibit of circular construction.

Grand opening of the Confex: a milestone for the future

One outstanding moment in 2024 was the inauguration of the Confex, Koelnmesse's new conference and exhibition centre, as part of the company's anniversary celebrations. With space for up to 6,200 congress participants and state-of-the-art technology, the Confex sets new standards for events while serving as a symbol of Koelnmesse's innovative strength and future orientation. "The Confex exemplifies the continuous development of our infrastructure and underscores the pioneering spirit that has characterised Koelnmesse for a century," says Gerald Böse. Bookings for the coming years already confirm that the Confex is in tune with the spirit of the times and successfully fills a frequently described gap in the congress and corporate event business in the city and surrounding region.

Sustainability: a leading role in the sector

The year 2024 also marked decisive progress for Koelnmesse on its path to making the entire company and its own events more climate-neutral by 2030. Photovoltaic systems spanning a total area of 20,000 square metres were installed on the hall roofs of Koelnmesse. On the roof of Hall 11 alone, Koelnmesse operates the largest inner-city photovoltaic system in Cologne. At the same time, the company began its conversion to a geothermal heat supply for the entire trade fair grounds starting in 2028. In yet another milestone, Koelnmesse was the first German trade fair company to be certified according to the ISO 20121 standard for event sustainability management.

Koelnmesse named "Company of the Year"

Koelnmesse was named "Company of the Year" in both 2024 and 2025 by DEUTSCHLAND TEST and FOCUS MONEY in a study conducted by the Institute for Management and Economic Research (IMWF). The company once again achieved the highest score, securing the top spot among all German trade fair locations for the second year in a row, thus serving as further independent confirmation of its commitment and reputation as a company.

"The year 2024 was undoubtedly characterised by challenges. Nevertheless, we have remained on a solid path, achieved significant successes, and driven innovation. Our sustainable investments in the future of the company and the industry are already bearing fruit. We are therefore well positioned to confidently face the years ahead," summarises Gerald Böse.