Fiera Milano : approves the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan “CONN.E.C.T. 2025”

FIERA MILANO APPROVES THE 2021-2025 STRATEGIC PLAN

"CONN.E.C.T. 2025"

Business model renewed based on an advanced integrated services platform able to offer an innovative "phygital" customer experience

Significant cash generation which, over the life of the Plan, will make it possible to evaluate M&A opportunities and shareholder remuneration

STRATEGY

• ▪ Development activity focused on four strategic directions to become a leading European hub with an international presence:

  • - complementary and synergistic offer of traditional and digital services capable of enhancing the customer journey of exhibitors and visitors through a "phygital" experience and the development of a permanent information hub to support supply chain communities;

  • - strengthening of the portfolio of proprietary and third-party exhibitions;

  • - consolidation of leadership in the congress sector;

  • - attractiveness and safety of the exhibition and congress sites.

• ▪ Focus on sustainability as a tool for value creation for all Stakeholders.

• ▪ Solid enabling factors represented by the enhancement of human capital, a commercial and product approach aimed at excellence, digital transformation and major investments aimed at increasing the management efficiency and competitiveness of the sites.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL TARGETS AT 2025

• ▪ In 2025, expected revenues in a range between Euro 290 and 310 million and EBITDA in a range between Euro 110 and 120 million, higher than the 2019 levels, despite a decrease in exhibition space (-12%) compared to 2019.

• ▪ Significant cash generation leading to net cash1, estimated at between Euro 75 and 85 million at the end of the Plan, making it possible to evaluate M&A opportunities and shareholder remuneration.

• ▪ Investments of Euro 115-125 million are planned for the period, Euro 90-100 million of which are forecast to be made by the Fondazione Fiera Milano to improve the attractiveness and safety of the exhibition and congress sites.

1 Before the effects of IFRS 16

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL TARGETS AT 2021

• ▪ The restart of onsite exhibitions in Q2 2021 is foreseen to generate a total yearly revenue of Euro 180-200 million, an EBITDA in a range of Euro 40 and 50 million and a net financial position1, between Euro 5 and -5 million. If, on the other hand, on site exhibitions do not start until September 2021, due to the prolonged pandemic, there would be a negative impact in terms of margins and net financial debt estimated at around Euro 5 million.

INCENTIVE PLAN (LTI) 2021-2022

• ▪ Approval of the guidelines of the new LTI Incentive Plan for executives with strategic responsibilities and other key managers to support the achievement of the Plan's targets.

PRELIMINARY 2020 RESULTS

• ▪ Revenues of Euro 74 million, EBITDA of Euro 10.4 million and net financial debt1 of Euro 24 million.

EURO 20 MILLION LOAN FROM CASSA DEPOSITI E PRESTITI

• ▪ A five-year loan agreement for Euro 20 million with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A., backed by SACE's "Garanzia Italia", was signed.

Milan, 22 February 2021. The Board of Directors of Fiera Milano SpA ("Fiera Milano" and/or the "Company"), which met today under the chairmanship of Carlo Bonomi, approved the Strategic Plan 2021-2025 (the "Plan"), which covers the different evolution of the exhibition calendar over the reference time horizon. The Plan, called CONN.ECT 2025 (Connections, Exhibitions, Community, Transformation), aims to bring the Company from a phase still burdened by the evolution of the pandemic to a "new normal", confirming and consolidating Fiera Milano's role as a strategic partner alongside companies in their innovation, growth and internationalization efforts. Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in business decisions: the Plan is aimed at creating long-term value for shareholders and all stakeholders, in line with the new Corporate Governance Code recommendations.

The Chairperson of Fiera Milano, Carlo Bonomi, declares: "The Plan reaffirms Fiera Milano's commitment to serving Italy's entrepreneurial fabric and the industrial supply chains that are the hallmarks of Made in Italy in the world. We are ready to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities that will arise in the near future. The Group confirms itself as a solid platform for internationalisation and industrial policy. Fiera Milano's role remains that of generating value for businesses, employment and the local community. In this phase of change we have continued to work in close synergy with all the organisers who have confirmed their determination to start again with greater vigour. Fiera Milano is therefore ready to support the entire sector which is poised to be increasingly strategic for the competitiveness and internationalisation of businesses".

The Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Luca Palermo, comments: "With CONN.ECT 2025 we are proposing ourselves as a European hub capable of offering a global network and a "one-stop-shop" focused on value-added services which are an indispensable element for organisers, exhibitors and visitors. We are moving from a business model that was mainly based on physical events to a hybrid model, in which physical services will be accompanied by and enhanced with innovative digital services that will improve the customer experience. We will work to bolster the Group's international dimension and to enhance the portfolio of direct and hosted exhibitions, leveraging the attractiveness of Milan. We will guarantee a high level of safety and quality of our increasingly digital and sustainable exhibition sites, thanks also to the support of investments of the Fondazione Fiera Milano. Our people, combined with the digital transformation underway, will be a fundamental component to achieve the targets we have set ourselves by improving the efficiency of processes, time to market, the effectiveness of our commercial approach, and product quality. We will pay close attention to sustainability with a specific focus on five areas, creating greater value for all our Stakeholders. Fiera Milano is looking forward with confidence to the restart of the sector".

STRATEGIC GUIDELINES

The Plan is based on 4 strategic lines:

• ▪ a better valorisation of services in order to exploit their full potential;

• ▪ strengthening of the portfolio of directly organized exhibitions, expanding their international size and launching new events in resilient sectors linked to promising macro-trends;

• ▪ harnessing the potential of the Rho exhibition site, to strengthen ties with organisers and attract new exhibitions and events;

• ▪ consolidation of leadership in the congress business, leveraging one of the most modern and largest congress center in Europe.

Better enhancement of services

The strategy in the service business is aimed at creating an integrated portfolio enriched with innovative and valuable solutions, in order to enhance the customer experience which thus becomes "phygital" (both physical and digital) and offer more opportunities for targeted cross-selling and up-selling actions.

• ▪ Traditional services. The Plan aims at improving the value of services, both by increasing their penetration rate and by focusing on those with greater added value, also through partnerships and agreements with specialised and high-profile operators. In particular, in the exhibition sector, the Company intends to expand its market share especially in the segment of "customised" and "pre-fitted" stands.

• ▪ Digital services. The portfolio of digital services stands alongside that of traditional services in a synergistic and complementary way. Fiera Milano can already count on a technologically advanced, scalable platform (Fiera Milano Platform), which is full of services and multimedia content. In perspective it will be the basis for creating a real permanent information hub that will foster the creation and development of communities, generating contact opportunities 365 days a year. Another priority will be to further strengthen the platform, also through agreements

with qualified suppliers and the adoption of advanced systems and cutting-edge technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and augmented and virtual reality.

Strengthening of directly organised exhibitions

The management effort will be directed at consolidating and expanding the portfolio of proprietary exhibitions. On the one hand, the aim will be to enrich the contents and increase the size and international weight of the directly organised trade fairs by increasing the internationality rate of exhibitors and buyers in order to create exhibitions that are a reference for their sector not only at a domestic level. On the other hand, the focus will be on the launch of new exhibitions, giving the priority to sectors with interesting growth prospects. These targets can also be achieved through agreements and partnerships with leading national and / or international operators. Expansion abroad, to be achieved through the launch of geo-clones of the fairs with the greatest international appeal that best express Made in Italy, will represent a further strategic action.

Exploitation of the potential of the exhibition site in Rho

In this context, the strategic action is aimed at consolidating and strengthening long-term relationships with third-party organisers who will be able to rely on the technological potential of the exhibition site in Rho and on compliance with the highest standards in terms of health and safety protection, successfully tested during last fall's events. The strengthening of relations with third-party organisers can also be pursued through agreements aimed at creating synergies in the administrative and commercial management of events and/or building a system around events belonging to similar or adjacent sectors in order to increase their appeal and international exposure, as happened successfully in 2018 with the project that saw the launch of "The Innovation Alliance".

The strategic options include the organisation of new B2C events supported by an enhanced experiential and entertainment context to increase the occupancy level of the space.

Consolidation of the congress business

The consolidation and strengthening of leadership in the congress sector will be pursued by leveraging the quality of the congress centre, one of the largest and most modern in Europe, and the attractiveness of the city of Milan, at the top of European tourist destinations, to attract new events, especially with an international dimension. The increased size of the Milan Convention Center ("MiCo"), which will be able to rely on additional space in pavilions 3 and 4 and on the increased capacity of the congress centre (21,000 seats compared to the previous 18,000), together with the strengthening of services and digital solutions, will open the doors to new business opportunities. The innovation of the technological infrastructure of MiCo will provide organisers with a place where they can use the most modern and advanced digital technologies for their events and, for visitors, a richer and more engaging participatory experience. The expansion of the congress calendar and a better saturation will be pursued also through specific agreements with other domestic and international congress centres as well as through closer coordination with Milano & Partners - Convention Bureau.