Ebiquity profit down in 2018

The company completed the sale of its advertising intelligence business to Nielsen in January 2019 in a deal worth £26m.

Revenue from Ebiquity’s continuing business was £69.4m in 2018, but its underlying operating profit fell from £9m in 2017 to £6.3m due to planned investment which did not deliver anticipated revenue growth, according to the firm.

The continuing business is now organised into two segments: analytics and tech, and media. The analytics and tech division grew its revenue by 19% to £15.2m in 2018, while revenue from the media division, including media management, performance and contract compliance, increased by 5%.

Michael Karg, chief executive, Ebiquity (pictured), said: "Against the background of revenue growth, the reduction in the continuing business operating profit was disappointing and was a result that clearly fell short of our goals."

He added: "The company now has greater financial flexibility, a more streamlined business and a strengthened management team. We are focussed on growing and expanding our media and analytics & tech practices and improving our profitability."