Two successful trade fair premieres, the G20 summit in our halls, the contract for the continued operation of the CCH over the next 25 years, the closure of the hanseboot and the operation of the award-winning German Pavilion at the EXPO 2017 in Astana (Kazakhstan) made the 2017 reporting year an extraordinary one in many respects. With revenue of 72.8 million euros, it was also the most successful odd-numbered fiscal year in the 45-year history of Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH (HMC). The planned increase in revenue compared to the reference year 2015 was clearly exceeded: Instead of an increase in revenue of seven million euros, it grew around eleven million euros. This was achieved despite the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg being unavailable for the first time in the company’s history due to the revitalization efforts that began at the beginning of 2017.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to our employees because 2017 demanded the highest degree of flexibility and commitment from them. We regularly faced completely new situations. This certainly applies to the G20 summit, which was the most unusual and challenging event of the past year. But it also applies to the integration of more than two dozen events usually slated for the CCH into trade fair operations. Moreover, trade fair premieres represent completely new territory – and we had two of them this year.

In total, we welcomed 668,974 participants and visitors to the events on our exhibition grounds in the past fiscal year. This includes 46,370 participants who attended one of the 25 CCH events held at the exhibition grounds. The most important pillar of our success was once again our own trade fairs – particularly the INTERNORGA international trade fair for the hotel, restaurant, bakery and confectionery industry, which attracted 96,000 visitors with around 1,300 exhibitors from 25 countries. INTERNOGA once again underscored its position as Europe’s leading trade fair and trendsetter by attracting the same number of exhibitors and visitors as last year though it had shortened its schedule by a full day.

Changes, such as adapting the duration of INTERNORGA to the needs of exhibitors, are an essential part of our business. As a trade fair company, we closely monitor economic developments, social trends and technological developments in order to keep our product range in line with the changing requirements of the markets. In 2017, for example, we launched two new trade fairs: The home² real estate fair and HAMBURG MOTOR CLASSICS celebrated successful premieres in the year under review. By contrast, we retired the hanseboot, which proved to be no longer marketable in its existing form despite continuous adaptations of the concept. Nevertheless, the north of Germany is not without a water sports exhibition. With the HAMBURG BOAT SHOW, a new trade fair under the auspices of the German Boat and Shipbuilder Association will be launched in our halls in the fall of 2018.

Once again, 31 guest events made a significant contribution to the year’s excellent results. We have been working closely with many of these guest organizers for years. Indeed, the Einstieg training fair and Hanse Golf celebrated small anniversaries in the year under review – each being held for the 15th time. Other, younger guest events are growing strongly and attracting great international attention. Increasing digitalization is particularly generating movement. New formats are emerging and trade fairs are becoming year-round events on the internet. For us, this means constantly adapting and expanding our digital offerings.

Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH is planning revenue of 99.9 million euros for the action-packed year of 2018. Due to the revitalization of the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg, only the exhibition grounds will be in use again. In addition to around 30 guest events, eleven own events will be held here. These include the leading international maritime trade fair SMM, which was already fully booked at the end of 2017, and WindEnergy Hamburg, which together with the global WindEurope conference will form the Global Wind Summit 2018 for the first time – making it the largest international meeting place for the industry.

We are especially looking forward to our own anniversary in 2018: For the 25th time since 1994, HMC is organizing the HAFENGEBURTSTAG HAMBURG on behalf of the Ministry of Economics, Transportation and Innovation.

We would like to thank our exhibitors, visitors and business partners for their loyalty and trusting cooperation. We would also like to thank our Supervisory Board for its highly committed support during the year under review.

Sincerely,