Annual Report 2021

Dear Shareholders

For the second year in a row, BERNEXPO GROUPE’s business operations were severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The restrictions imposed by the Swiss government and the cantons again had a major negative impact on our core business, especially in the first half of 2021. It was not until August that in-house and guest events resumed on the BERNEXPO site. While at the beginning of the past financial year the volume of specialist trade fairs was still significantly below the pre-pandemic level in some cases, visitor numbers at the Swiss Caravan Salon, Switzerland’s most important camping and caravanning event, even exceeded 2019 levels – fortunately. The optimism thus regained was, unfortunately, halted at the end of the year by the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. Despite rapid structural adjustments, maximum short-time working and strict cost management, the high fixed costs and the lack of turnover from the first half of the year resulted in a negative operating result. It was only thanks to the contingency funds from the Swiss government and the canton that a balanced annual result was achieved at the Group level.