Business publisher Euromoney proposes 240 job cuts after Covid-19 hit to events

B2B information provider Euromoney is proposing to make more than 10% of its global workforce redundant due to the impact of Covid-19 on its events business.

More than half of the 240 proposed job losses are expected to be in events.

After the pandemic, event cancellations led to a £9.2m hit on revenue and a £3.7m hit on operating profit in the first half of the year.

Euromoney chief executive Andrew Rashbass told staff in a call on Wednesday afternoon that the virtual events being run instead are making under 30% of the revenue of their face-to-face counterparts.

Press Gazette understands he said it had been an anomaly that no job losses had yet been made since the crisis began.

He also told staff 75% of the business remains on a good track and that he did not expect any publications to close, although some brands would have to be reimagined.

Euromoney Institutional Investor has more than 2,150 staff in 32 offices and 11 countries according to the company’s latest annual report, published in March.

Press Gazette understands the redundancies are likely to fall in the UK, US, Canada and Hong Kong.

A Euromoney spokesperson said: “As part of our planning for our new financial year starting on 1 October 2020 we have announced internally that we are undertaking a restructure and cost reduction programme.

“This will put a meaningful amount of jobs at risk, mainly affecting our events businesses. These measures will further support our robust balance sheet and allow us to maintain investment in future growth.

“The exact process and timing will depend on the legal requirements in each country. We will be working closely with impacted staff to provide them with appropriate support through the process.”

A voluntary pay deferral scheme for staff earning over a certain amount, with the difference paid in shares, saw take-up of 80% which allowed the company to protect jobs, Rashbass said.

He told staff that Euromoney’s subscription businesses are generally doing well, with 4-5% subscription growth, and that he expects more hiring in such parts of the businesses.

He also said the company was looking at its use of offices, as many companies begin to eye up a permanent move to more flexible working, and that he had taken a 40% pay cut and declined a bonus for this year.

The company is now budgeting for pay rises, bonuses, hiring for new opportunities and small bolt-on acquisitions for the new financial year, staff were told.

Euromoney reported turnover of £401.7m in 2019 and adjusted operating profit before tax of £104.6m.

Some 60% of 2019 revenue came from subscriptions and content versus 31% from events and 9% from advertising.

Euromoney made 49% of its revenue from pricing, data and market intelligence; 15% from banking and finance and 36% from its asset finance division.

Euromoney is listed on the London Stock Exchange and its share price has declined from an all-time peak of £14.94 in September 2019 at the start of the year to £8.67 at time of writing.