Group Press Releases
Pre-Close Trading Statement
20 December 2006
Aegis Group plc (“Aegis”), the media communications and market research group, is today releasing its regular trading update ahead of its close period. Aegis will report preliminary results for 2006 on 15 March 2007.
With eleven months of trading complete, the group has continued to perform in line with our expectations. Since the first six months of the year, organic revenue growth has accelerated slightly, mainly reflecting the increased second half weighting of our market research business, Synovate.
Aegis Media
Aegis Media EMEA continues to trade well, with a slight pick-up in adspend in France and Germany. Aegis Media UK is performing well in spite of softer market conditions. In the Americas and Asia Pacific, we continue to expand and improve our market positions.
We have seen a continuation of recent trends in spending patterns, with digital services accounting for an ever increasing proportion of marketing activity. Isobar has continued to grow strongly, and our leadership and strength in digital are making a significant contribution to our new business success.
After a record first half for net new business, Aegis Media has continued to deliver a strong list of wins. New business won in the second half includes Alliance & Leicester in the UK; pan-European appointments for General Motors and Tommy Hilfiger; Cadbury’s in Mexico; and P&G in the Philippines. We expect to deliver a satisfactory performance for the year at Aegis Media, despite the additional cost of pitching and preparing to service these new clients. Our 2006 wins will help underpin a further year of good revenue growth in 2007.
Synovate
Synovate’s strong order book at the half year has translated into good revenue growth in the second half. As expected, this is resulting in modest year-on-year operating margin improvement. Synovate USA and Synovate Healthcare have produced particularly strong performances in the year to date.
The sophistication of Synovate’s research offering and seamless international coverage remain key drivers of the market share gains achieved in 2006. Last month, Synovate launched Brand Value Creator (BVC) to widespread industry acclaim and client interest. We believe that BVC is the first market research framework capable of predicting accurately what people will buy as a result of brand marketing investment.
For further information contact:
Charlotte Elston
Aegis Group plc
+44 (0) 20 7070 7708
Tim Spratt
Financial Dynamics
+44 (0) 20 7831 3113
