Comscore begins strategic review as Q2 revenue down

The company’s net loss was $279.5m in the second quarter, compared to $56m in the same period in 2018, including non-cash impairment charges of $241.6m.

Revenue from the Ratings and Planning business was $68.9m in the quarter, down from $70.5m in the second quarter of last year. Comscore attributed the decrease to a decline in syndicated digital products offset by higher revenue in TV and cross-platform products.

Analytics and Optimisation revenue also declined to $17.3m in the second quarter, compared to $20.5 million in Q2 2018, due to lower sales of digital custom marketing solutions, Comscore said.

Movies Reporting and Analytics revenue, meanwhile, was up at $10.7m compared to $10.4m in Q2 2018.

The company said it took “significant steps” to prioritise, refocus and invest in its portfolio of products and reduced its core operating costs during the second quarter. It is now exploring its options, which could lead to a sale of the business or parts of it.

Dale Fuller, director and interim chief executive officer of Comscore, said: "The management team is exploring all aspects of the business and is conducting a comprehensive strategic review of all our options, making sure that our talent is focused on developing compelling products that our customers want and need. We believe this approach should ultimately allow us to generate break-even to positive operating cash flow later this year."