Ascential shares hit a bump with H1 update

Shares in FTSE 250 information and analytics firm Ascential (LON:ASCL) sank by 6.24% to 279.60p (as of 14:30 BST) as its events business struggled in the first half of 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions. Reported revenues for the period fell by 38.9%, largely due to event cancellations and deferrals. Adjusted EBITDA was down by 73.8% and the company reported an operating loss for the period.

CEO Duncan Painter commented: “The fluid nature of the worldwide pandemic and its management makes it impossible to be precise about the short-term outlook for the Company, but we take significant comfort that we pivoted our strategy to become a global leader in digital commerce. We remain ready to run our market-leading events as and when restrictions on face-to-face gatherings are lifted and the economics of running events are positive. We are confident that Ascential is well positioned to execute its strategy based on the strength of our platform, organisation and balance sheet“.