CEDIA Among 86 Emerald Events Planned for 2021 After COVID-19 Delays

CEDIA Expo is among 86 trade events Emerald Holding plans to stage in second half 2021, the most in its history, as the show producer looks to salvage a year clobbered by COVID-19 postponements, said CEO Herve Sedky on the company’s Q2 earnings call Friday. The company canceled all Q1 live events except Surf Expo in Orlando, which had 50% attendance, and nearly all live events in Q2. It held two smaller shows in Florida, Sedky said.

Last month, Emerald told us it expected a 20% falloff in exhibitor numbers at CEDIA Expo Sept. 1-3 in Indianapolis (see 2107070057). It revised a requirement for temperature checks then, after saying they would be required in April. Emerald said in July masks will be encouraged but not required for fully vaccinated attendees. Attendees not fully vaccinated will be required to wear a face covering, but CEDIA Expo won't require proof of vaccination.

Sedky balanced enthusiasm for reopenings in states where it holds conventions, upcoming events on the docket and confidence instilled by coronavirus vaccinations with caution over the rise of the delta variant and the number of events it will squeeze into a six-month time frame. “It’s important to note that planning and staging this quantity of events while also working through significant logistical issues, given the short lead time that now exists, is presenting our team and our customers with challenges, which will also impact attendance given some of the uncertainty that continues to exist.”

To date, Emerald has canceled 118 events since the COVID-19 outbreak: 94 in 2020, representing $230.6 million of 2019 revenue, and 24 that had been scheduled to stage in 2021, representing $71.4 million of 2020 revenue, said the company. The company has event cancellation insurance, it said.

Emerald submitted $167 million in claims, the net amount of budgeted gross revenue minus costs for canceled events scheduled for 2020, said Chief Financial Officer David Doft. Insurance claim payments received or expected to be received to date total $124.7 million, of which $89.1 million was received in 2020; $29.6 million in the first quarter of 2021; and $4.7 million in Q2.

Emerald is pursuing collection of the remaining unpaid amounts of filed insurance claims for its canceled 2020 events, in addition to claims for its canceled 2021 events. In February, the company filed a complaint in Federal District Court in Orange County, California, against its event cancellation insurers under its 2020 and 2021 event cancellation insurance policy.

For Q2, Emerald reported revenue of $15 million vs. $7.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Sedky said Emerald is building new digital businesses that will provide high-margin, subscription revenue streams to complement live events. It will allow the company to expand its addressable market, said the executive. Shares fell 3.6% Friday to $3.95.