YouGov reports half year revenue and profit increases

The company recorded £66.5m in revenue in the six months to 31^st January 2019, up from £56.3m in the same period the previous year, while adjusted operating profit increased by 41% to £12.5m.

Revenue from the firm’s data products and services was up by 34% to £37.2m, and this division now represents over half ( 54%) of YouGov’s total business.

Custom research revenue increased by 4% to £30.4m, while operating profit for this part of the business grew by 15% to £7.9m as a result of focusing on higher margin work.

The US remains the biggest growth market, with adjusted operating profit increasing by 15%.

The company is approaching the end of its five-year plan to focus more on syndicated data products. It has set out targets for the next five-year period to double its group revenue and group adjusted operating profit margin, and achieve adjusted earnings per share compound annual growth rate in excess of 30%.

Stephan Shakespeare, chief executive, YouGov (pictured), said: "In the final year of our current five-year growth plan we are continuing to deliver revenue and earnings growth ahead of the market. Our syndicated data model has broken new ground in the industry, and as we announce targets for our next five-year plan, we are no less ambitious.”

The company’s new plan will focus on “activating our data to create targetable audiences, investing in technology to ensure our data is integrated and customisable, and opening up some of our data as a public resource”, said Shakespeare. He added: “We believe this will help create a universal data platform for our clients.”