Headline half-year figures from market research group YouGov (YOU) look disappointing, but adjust for acquisition, amortisation and restructuring costs totalling £3m and operating profit rose almost a third to £2.9m.
That was driven by a 32 per cent increase in sales of its data products and services, which made up 30 per cent of total revenues. YouGov's clients are hungry for real-time, tailored data about customer satisfaction and brand perception that they can "play around with" and analyse themselves, says chief executive Stephan Shakespeare. But these gains were offset by weak sales in its core custom research segment, prompting staff cuts in its US and Nordic operations. YouGov is now shooting for an eventual 50-50 revenue split between the two businesses.
That's already the case in the UK, where data sales rose by nearly a quarter to account for 48 per cent of revenues. Sales of its two flagship data products, BrandIndex and Omnibus, rose 62 and 14 per cent, respectively, as the company added subscribers such as Iceland and Travelodge.
YouGov also expanded internationally, buying Decision Fuel, an Asian research business. And it secured a nationwide polling contract with two large US media outlets for the upcoming congressional elections.
Broker Numis Securities expects adjusted pre-tax profits of £7.8m this year, giving EPS of 5.8p - up from £6.8m and 5.1p.
| YOUGOV (YOU) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 108p | MARKET VALUE: | £107m | |
| TOUCH: | 109-112p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 114p | LOW: 65p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.5% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 58p* | NET CASH: | £6.1m | |
| Half-year to 31 Jan | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 30.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | nil |
| 2014 | 32.6 | -0.4 | -0.4 | nil |
| % change | +9 | - | - | - |
*Includes intangible assets of £47.8m, or 48p a a share | ||||
