Rampant online fraud and the emergence of social media, automated advertising exchanges and ad-blocking software have baffled businesses seeking to engage audiences. More than four-fifths of the top 100 global advertisers relied on Ebiquity (EBQ) to improve their targeting and maximise the impact of their marketing spend in 2015. The upshot was the marketing analytics group's underlying, constant-currency operating profit jumping by more than half to £12.4m.
Ebiquity moved its financial year-end from April to December to improve revenue visibility and allow better planning - it previously earned the bulk of its profit in the first four months of the calendar year. Comparable sales leapt 15 per cent at constant currencies in the largest division, media value measurement, as it reviewed around $7bn (£4.9bn) in media spend for advertisers. Moreover, strong demand for data-driven insights propelled revenue up 38 per cent in the marketing optimisation segment. The weak spot was the marketing intelligence division: a slowdown in project work meant turnover slid 4 per cent there. But the launch of a new portfolio platform could underpin a rally this year.
Broker Numis Securities expects pre-tax profit of £13m in 2016, giving EPS of 11p, up from £11.2m and 10.8p in 2015.
| EBIQUITY (EBQ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 136p | MARKET VALUE: | £105m | |
| TOUCH: | 133-138p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 148p | LOW: 122p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.3% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 54p* | NET DEBT: | 68% | |
| Year to 30 Apr | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 52.9 | 2.6 | 2.3 | nil |
| 2013 | 64.0 | 6.6 | 7.0 | nil |
| 2014 | 68.5 | 3.4 | 4.1 | nil |
| 2015 | 73.9 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 0.4 |
| 8 months to 31 Dec | ||||
| 2015† | 43.3 | -7.4 | -8.1 | 0.4 |
| % change | ||||
Ex-div: tba Payment: tba *Includes intangible assets of £68.4m, or 89p a share †Ebiquity changed its financial year-end to 31 December | ||||
