Events organiser Informa launches review of some data units

(Reuters) - Informa said on Thursday it was reviewing some units that provide data to industries as the events organiser looks to focus on lucrative sectors, while its events business recovers from cancellations of physical gatherings last year.

The world's largest exhibitions company said it was on track to deliver at least 1.7 billion pounds ($2.41 billion) in sales this year as its digital services business grows and physical events return in key markets such as the United States, Middle East and Mainland China.

Informa, which also owns the Taylor & Francis academic publisher, has been cutting costs over the past year to ride through the pandemic. In April, it agreed to merge its financial intelligence business with U.S.-based Novantas.

It is now assessing opportunities for its Barbour ABI, Barbour EHS and Asset Intelligence businesses, either inside or outside of the company, Informa said on Thursday, adding that it expected to complete the review by year-end.

"Improving growth in subscriptions, ongoing expansion in digital services and the enduring strength of our B2B brands and platforms, give us increasing confidence in revitalisation and growth through 2022-2024," Chief Executive Officer Stephen Carter said.

Informa's Barbour ABI unit provides data and advisory services related to the UK construction industry, Barbour EHS on health and safety, and Asset Intelligence on industrial machinery.

($1 = 0.7067 pounds)

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Subhranshu Sahu)