Strong appetite for customised data lifts YouGov profits

Strong demand for customised data lifted pollster YouGov’s profits to nearly £20m this year.

Pre-tax statutory profits climbed 24 per cent over the last year, driven by robust appetite for in-depth research to feed into clients’ strategies.

Revenues rose 18 per cent to £169m, up from £152.4m in the previous year.

A 20 per cent rise in income from YouGov’s data services division strengthened its bottom. Custom research income increased two per cent.

The pollster also announced non-executive chairman, Roger Parry, will step down next year.

Stephan Shakespeare, chief executive of YouGov, said: “We are pleased to end this financial year in line with our expectations, demonstrating sustained growth despite the continuing disruption caused by the pandemic.”

“This is testament to the resilience of our business model, the hard work of our people and heightened demand for YouGov’s tailored solutions, providing valuable opinions and consumer insights to help our clients make informed decisions. 

“YouGov also continues to demonstrate momentum on the stated strategy as we enter the third year of our second long-term strategic growth plan. We believe that the investments we made in the first half of our plan have placed us in a strong position for the final two years.

“We have started off the new financial year well. We expect current positive trends to continue in the coming months which gives us confidence for the future.”