Ipsos Results and Appointment

Ipsos has revealed full year results for 2004, showing a 6.3% growth in consolidated revenues to 605.6m euros, or 7.5% at constant scope and exchange rates - a sixth consecutive year outperforming the market since its IPO. The company also announced the arrival of Douglas Cottings as the new head of its Financial Services practice in the US.

Exchange rate effects dragged growth down by 3.8%, while changes in the scope of consolidation boosted growth by 2.6%. Slower last quarter growth in Europe reflects a very strong fourth quarter in 2003, along with reduced marketing activity among some fast moving consumer goods clients in late 2004. The expected operating margin of 9% for 2004 would correspond to 'a slight improvement on an excellent 2003'.

Asia, the Middle East and Latin America showed the strongest performance, while in North America revenue growth remains firm, despite negative effects from the move to online data collection.

Growth is strong in advertising research, under the integrated Ipsos ASI brand, and in customer relationship management research under the newer cover of Ipsos Loyalty.



Ipsos is targeting stronger organic growth for 2005, citing its strong potential to provide homogeneous and simultaneous multi-country research, continuing improvements in working procedures giving fast and lower-cost information, and the improvement of 'the explanatory and predictive power of data' for use in brand management, innovation planning and communications.

A fundamentally unchanged strategy will focus on selective acquisitions in Asia-Pacific, North America and the UK; enhancement and differentiation of its offering in its five business lines; stronger partnerships with major international customers; more online research; and constant focus on the quality and professionalism of staff. This requires large amounts of R&D expenditure and other costs, and therefore Ipsos anticipate stable operating margin in 2005. Targets for 2007 are confirmed as one billion euros in revenue (based on an exchange rate of 1 dollar to the euro) and 10% operating margin.

The company has also announced the appointment of Douglas Cottings as Senior VP and Head of the Financial Services practice in the US - this includes both Ipsos-Insight and Ipsos Loyalty.

Cottings, who will be based in Charlotte, North Carolina, joins from Bank of America, where he served as Senior Vice President, Strategy & Business Intelligence, and where he had previously been part of the bank's Corporate Marketing Consumer Analytics & Modeling group. Prior to this he worked in global business intelligence and research functions at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines.

He has an MBA from Xavier University and an undergraduate degree from Miami University, and has been an adjunct marketing professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and Drake University, in Des Moines, Iowa.

The company home page is at www.ipsos.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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