Olympics and US elections good for Aegis
AEGIS said this year’s London Olympic Games and US presidential election will further boost the marketing and advertising company after a year which saw profits rise by 32 per cent.
This year’s public events, including the Euro football championship, will grow global ad spend by six per cent according to Aegis subsidiary Carat.
While the UK will be slightly behind the worldwide figure at four per cent, this significantly surpasses 2011 and growth throughout the rest of western Europe.
Britain’s second biggest ad firm reported a full-year net profit of £164.1m, up from £41.2m last year, boosted by the group’s £525m sale of Synovate and a record number of new clients including General Motors, a $3bn (£1.92bn) deal signed in January.
Aegis’ results were ahead of its major rivals including WPP, Publicis and Omnicom.
Operating profit grew 31 per cent to £197.4m from last year’s £151.m – compared to analysts’ expectations of around £190m.
Pre-tax profits at the marketing firm, which is 26.56 per cent owned by French businessman Vincent Bollore, jumped 32 per cent to £161.8m – 4.5 per cent ahead of forecasts.
Aegis shares jumped three per cent to £1.84 before closing slightly down at £1.79.5.