Nielsen revenues fall 8.1% in Q2

The company’s total revenues were at $1.5bn for the three months to the end of June, and its Nielsen Global Media revenues also fell 5.3% to $811m.

Nielsen Global Connect also saw reported revenues plunge 11.3% to $685m. 

The results meant the company had a net reported loss of $30m, compared with a net income of $123m in the same period in 2019.

The company said the falls in revenue were due to the impact of Covid-19, and an optimisation plan was announced last month to drive $250m in permanent savings at the company.

The plan included making an estimated 3,500 jobs redundant globally and exiting from non-core businesses as part of cost-saving restructuring measures.

The previously-announced division of the company into Nielsen Global Media and Nielsen Global Connect is expected to be completed in early 2021, the company said.

David Kenny, chief executive officer at Nielsen, said: “We delivered solid results that were in line or above the outlook we provided in April amid a challenging environment due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, with both Media and Connect executing well.

“We are prioritising resources to focus on key strategic initiatives, higher margin products and services, and greater efficiency, which will drive agility and scale.

“We expect our actions will permanently reduce our cost structure, driving margin expansion, increased cash generation and providing added flexibility to invest in key growth initiatives that will enable us to better serve our clients in rapidly evolving ecosystems.”