S4 Capital Q1 revenue and profit up

Reported revenue was £71m in the first three months of 2020, with gross profit up 19% like-for-like to £61m.

Revenue from the group’s programmatic and data and analytics practice, MightyHive, grew by 18% on a like-for-like basis.

S4 Capital said its growth was below the level of a pre-Covid-19 budget but that the business still has a chance to meet its three-year plan of doubling organically.

The company’s tech clients, representing around half of its revenue, have largely continued to invest, although it has seen some postponement of spend into the second half of the year. It said investment from FMCG companies, pharmaceutical brands and retailers was more mixed, with some reducing their spend.

Martin Sorrell, executive chairman, said: “In our view, Covid-19 will only accelerate the digital trends we have seen before at three levels – consumers, media owners and enterprise managers. It is effectively and sadly a burning platform that will encourage and drive digital transformation.”