Tournament isn’t Holy Grail March 7, 2010 WPP hopes the World Cup will help prevent yet another annus horribilis for advertising. The signs are good; the advertising market will remain almost flat this year, a reversal from the steep declines seen in 2007 and 2008. This will be largely aided by a dramatic spike in revenue – as much as 16 per [...]
WPP profits plunge in “brutal” year March 5, 2010 ADVERTISING giant WPP saw pre-tax plunge by 11 per cent to £663m last year. Like-for-like revenues fell by 8 per cent as Sir Martin Sorell’s company suffered what it branded a “brutal year”. But the company said the economic environment was improving and like-for-like revenue in January was stable. “We seem to have moved from [...]
Hopes rise as advertising sector begins to stabilise March 2, 2010 WPP, the world’s largest advertising group by revenue, sees calmer seas ahead after a turbulent year. The second half of the year is expected to be “less worse”, according to chief executive Martin Sorrell. He said the markets began to stabilise in the second half of 2009. The firm, which reports its annual results on [...]
Government in bid to stop a tax exodus February 22, 2010 THE government yesterday moved to reassure multinational firms that there will be no surprise tax changes if Labour wins the next general election, amid growing fears of an exodus of blue-chip firms. Chancellor Alistair Darling told an audience of chief executives – including GSK boss Andrew Witty, WPP chief Martin Sorrell and the LSE’s Xavier [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF PEARSON’S EARNINGS UPGRADE? January 19, 2010 LORNA TILBIAN | NUMIS We remain firm supporters of Pearson, which has an attractive mix of businesses and offers good value at 14 times earnings supported by a near four per cent yield. However, our preference remains for quality cyclicals such as DMGT, Informa and WPP, which were hit harder in the downturn and have [...]
Recovery in advertising industry isn’t here yet January 14, 2010 MECOM, the European newspaper firm led by former Mirror executive David Montgomery, yesterday said that the decline in its advertising revenues had started to slow. Ad sales in November and December were down just eight per cent, a major improvement on the 18 per cent fall in revenues over the entire year, and on the [...]
Yell moves refinancing on with 660m fundraising November 10, 2009 Struggling publisher Yell Group embarked on the last stage of a protracted refinancing yesterday when it announced a £660m share issue, lifting its shares three per cent. Yell plans to issue 1.6bn shares at 42p a-piece, a 12.5 per cent discount to Monday’s closing price. Half will be sold through a placing to agreed buyers [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 2, 2009 ALTERNATIVE NETWORKSInvestec said Alternative Network’s acquisition of Aurora Kendrick James Group for up to £5.5m, 82 per cent in cash, is a ringing endorsement of its market-leading capabilities and platform. It upgraded its 2010 earnings per share estimates for the firm, increased the target price to 150p and reiterated its “buy” rating. PUNCH TAVERNSKBC Peel [...]
The emerging economies are best bet for the long term November 2, 2009 ONCE plagued by fears of debt defaults, currency devaluations and political instability, emerging markets are now an indispensable part of every reward-seeking investor’s portfolio. That, at least, was the message from Marino Valensise, chief investment officer at Baring Asset Management yesterday. He said: “While we believe that the rally in equities is set for a [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 27, 2009 MCBRIDEHaving started the year with conservative margin assumptions for McBride, Investec has upgraded these in light of its strong start to full-year 2010. The broker said that the top line performance is broadly as expected, but that a better mix is driving profits ahead. Investec therefore lifted earnings per share estimates in the region of [...]