SHERIDAN, WYOMING - April 14, 2026 - Koelnmesse GmbH posted preliminary sales of approximately €450 million and consolidated net income of approximately €60 million for fiscal year 2025, confirming a strong financial performance for the German trade fair operator. The company hosted around 2.5 million visitors from 214 countries and 43,600 exhibiting companies from 120 nations, while staging 38 events abroad during the year. These results reflect growing commercial traction from Koelnmesse's internationalisation strategy, which has been accelerating through branded satellite events and market-entry launches across the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Business Impact
The 2025 figures provide a firm financial foundation for continued capital deployment. The Confex conference and exhibition centre, which opened in 2024, has already established itself as a congress venue and contributed to drawing over one million congress visitors to Cologne in 2025. Koelnmesse and Koelncongress secured more than a dozen new congress events during the year, reinforcing Cologne's position in the competitive European congress and exhibition market. The company has also committed to planning new construction at the Cologne Messe/Deutz ICE train station, a move that points to long-term infrastructure investment at its home site.
The Middle East has emerged as the clearest near-term growth market. The FSB Sports Show Riyadh and the International Hardware Fair Saudi Arabia together attracted 13,110 trade visitors at their joint debut in June 2025, providing early commercial validation for the Saudi Arabia expansion. ORGATEC WORKSPACE Saudi Arabia is scheduled to debut on 16 September 2025 in Riyadh, bringing the Cologne ORGATEC brand to the GCC. The company committed to launching six further international trade fairs by end of 2025, including in India and Indonesia, extending established Cologne formats into high-growth markets.
New Geographies and Format Extensions
Koelnmesse's next major geographic entry is Central Asia. The Central Asia International Hardware Expo (CAIHE) is scheduled to launch in November 2026 in Uzbekistan, marking the company's first event in the region. Structured as a satellite of the EISENWARENMESSE - International Hardware Fair, CAIHE will cover construction, trades, industry, and retail sectors, with an explicit objective of providing market access for German and European SMEs. Uzbekistan was selected as entry point into what the company frames as a dynamic growth region.
In Europe, ART COLOGNE PALMA MALLORCA debuted from 9 to 12 April 2026 at the Palau de Congressos in Palma, extending the established Art Cologne brand to a Mediterranean spring format. The event was jointly presented by Marga Prohens, President of the Balearic Islands, and Koelnmesse CEO Gerald Böse at a press conference held at the Gothic Llotja. The company also confirmed spoga dog, a new biennial trade fair for dog supplies, to launch in 2027 alongside spoga horse, backed by the ZZF - German Pet Trade & Industry Association.
Sustainability and Employer Recognition
Koelnmesse received the F.A.Z. Institute's "Pioneer in Sustainability" designation for the second consecutive year, based on an analysis of approximately 6.4 million online references covering around 16,000 companies. The company has set a carbon neutrality target of 2030. A new visitor tool, CHEQ, enables trade fair attendees to calculate personal carbon savings generated by consolidating multiple business trips into a single event visit. Separately, the F.A.Z. Institute ranked Koelnmesse first nationwide in the Exhibition Venues category in its "Most Desirable Employer 2025" study, which assessed approximately 28.5 million company mentions in public sources and applied AI-based sentiment analysis.
Key facts:
- Preliminary 2025 sales: approximately €450 million; consolidated net income approximately €60 million
- 2.5 million visitors from 214 countries; 43,600 exhibiting companies from 120 nations in 2025
- 38 events staged abroad during 2025; six further international launches committed by year-end
- CAIHE to debut in Uzbekistan in November 2026 - Koelnmesse's first Central Asia event
- FSB Sports Show Riyadh and International Hardware Fair Saudi Arabia drew 13,110 trade visitors at June 2025 premiere