Half-year revenue down at Media Square but Illuminas ‘optimistic’

UK— Media Square has reported an £8.3m drop in revenue for the six-month period ending 31 August but its Illuminas research business is “on course to have a good year”, according to group director Mike Roderick.

Roderick was unable to provide detailed figures but said Illuminas was “cautiously optimistic” about the rest of the year and was expecting a stronger second half, having seen clients start to “spend a little more”.

Group-wide, Media Square’s turnover was down 30% year-on-year to £44.9m while revenue fell 25% to £24.3m. Headline operating loss was £1.5m compared to £2m profit in 2008.

Group chairman Roger Parry (pictured) said: “2009 has been a particularly challenging year for most marketing communications agencies. Media Square is no exception. In the reported six months we have seen the level of spending from our clients significantly reduced compared to the same period in 2008. While the company has substantially maintained its client base, existing clients have been spending less and deferring projects.”

The group said that it had reduced headcount in “a number of agencies” during the period, but Illuminas chairman Peter Reid – who is set to take over as Media Square CEO in January – said that no positions at Illuminas had been affected. The firm declined to put a figure on how many jobs had been cut across the group.

Media Square said it also moved to reduce property and overhead costs by housing some agencies together, by discipline.

The latest job cuts follow an earlier 9% reduction in workforce, announced in February.

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

Members of MRS enjoy many benefits including tailoured policy guidance, discounts on training and conferences, and access to member-only content.

For example, there's an archive of winning case studies from over a decade of MRS Awards.

Find out more about the benefits of joining MRS here.

0 Comments


Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest insights and trends...
Sign Up
Latest From MRS

Our latest training courses

Our new 2025 training programme is now launched as part of the development offered within the MRS Global Insight Academy

See all training

Specialist conferences

Our one-day conferences cover topics including CX and UX, Semiotics, B2B, Finance, AI and Leaders' Forums.

See all conferences

MRS reports on AI

MRS has published a three-part series on how generative AI is impacting the research sector, including synthetic respondents and challenges to adoption.

See the reports

Progress faster...
with MRS 
membership

Mentoring

CPD/recognition

Webinars

Codeline

Discounts