Pictured: Jurriaen Sleijster, president and chief operating officer of MCI
Earnings before
taxation and depreciation (EBITDA) increased 18 per cent to €18.7 million
(£16.4m) for MCI in 2016 while gross margins rose 5 per cent to €155m (£136m),
in what it's calling a "landmark year".
The international
events, conference and association management company has released its MCI 2016
Digital Annual Report, saying strong growth was particularly felt in the
Americas, which represented a seven-fold increase in the past five years, and
contributed 23 per cent towards gross margin. It comes after the acquisitions
of In House in Miami and P2COM in São Paulo, Brazil.
Overall turnover for
the company rose 4 per cent to €418m (£367m) in 2016, up from €402m (£353m) the
year previous.
Jurriaen Sleijster,
president and chief operating officer of MCI, said: "Looking at 2017 and beyond, MCI will
focus on strategic acquisitions that aim at fortifying its core service
offering while enhancing client value through a wide selection of new digital
products and services. Moreover, organic growth is also expected to contribute
to the company’s overall positive performance.
"The Americas
region will continue to be a pillar of acquisition and organic growth for the
company and Europe will maintain its role as a solid financial foundation for
balancing regional risk."
The report says its
two leading practices, meetings & events and full congress management
(PCO), represented 36 per cent and 28 per cent of total business respectively.
Digital accounted for 18 per cent, association management for 13 per cent and
destination management (DMC) for 5 per cent.
Chief executive Sébastien
Tondeur said: "2016 has been a landmark year for MCI. As we progress into
2017 and beyond, we will continue to forge deep client relationships using a
strong community-based approach. Additionally we will strengthen our
world-class company culture to celebrate entrepreneurial creativity, reaffirm
our sustainability principles and focus on results. We will continue to look
into structuring and investing in our digital, content and creative services
that already represent a quarter of our revenues."