The NEC Group has reported an annual profit of £35 million for the past year on the back of the ongoing development of its flagship Birmingham conferencing venues.
Figures released by the group show that its businesses, which include the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), the NEC Arena, the International Convention Centre (ICC) and the National Indoor Arena (NIA) generated £26.3 million of the overall profits to the end of March.
In particular, the ICC capped off a year which has seen it be named the UK's best purpose-built conference venue by the industry publication Conference & Incentive Travel by posting record levels of turnover and profit.
Likewise, the NEC Arena also produced a 2.6 per cent profit, figures welcomed by the group's chief operating officer John Hornby.
"These are a strong set of financial results even though 2007-08 was at the low point of our regular exhibition cycle," he said.
"Despite the hardening economic conditions, we delivered a result that was ahead of our internal expectations."
According to a recent KPMG study, the NEC Group is responsible for generating around £2 billion for the West Midlands economy as well as supporting as many as 29,000 jobs. 
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