Hill Anderson, senior editor of News Online, reports that Messe Frankfurt Group had a record year for 2008 with a new sales record of €440 million and a consolidated net income of €36 million. The sales tally showed an increase of 3.9% over 2007 sales and 8.4% above 2006.

Messe Frankfurt Group hosted a total of 102 trade shows worldwide. Their 2008 sales benefited from the huge bi-annual Light & Building trade show which drew 2,227 exhibitors and more than 167,000 attendees. Ambiente, the world’s largest consumer goods fair, had the largest number of exhibitors at 4,580.

This was the ninth consecutive year in which Messe Frankfurt increased its sales. Michael von Zitewitz, chairman of the board, said he was confident that the company would emerge from the global recession in good shape as they have been building a solid cushion over the past years. Satisfaction among exhibitors and visitors at the leading fairs in Frankfurt remains high showing the importance of trade fair activities for companies.

This is good news for the trade show display industry as this recession affected most of 2008. It also shows the importance of trade shows even in bad times. Companies that are cutting back on expenses might want to keep their trade shows in their marketing mix.