Ipsos Growth Beats Rivals Again

Ipsos has once again reported a sharp increase in revenues, up 18.8% on the year to Euros 717.9m in 2005. Organic growth at constant exchange rates was 8.6%, beating other major MR groups, and operating profit up 25.5% to Euros 63.9m.

Net profit attributable to the Group was up 44.1% to € 32.7m.

2005 was a particularly good year for geographical expansion, with the firm now active in 44 countries and employing more than 6,100 staff. The acquisitions / consolidation of a number of major agencies provided 8.4% revenue growth - these were Descarie & Complices (Montreal), Shifrin Research (New York), GDMR (Canton), Napoléon Franco (Colombia), MORI (UK) and Understanding UnLtd (Cincinnati). New offices were opened in Seattle, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Manila and a Geneva office will follow on April 3rd.

The company highlighted two other key trends. The capacity of its access panels for online data gathering has increased fourfold since 2001; and there is greater diversity in international contracts, particularly in service sectors and typically with a high unit value and multi-year duration.

Gross profit grew more rapidly than revenue, reflecting resilient prices and the benefits of the shift to online data gathering systems. Operating profit, as defined under IFRS, was 8.9% of consolidated revenue and 14.8% of gross profit, representing a 50 basis point improvement on 2004.

Profit before tax came to € 55.8 million, an increase of 43% on 2004. The effective tax rate under IFRS was 33%, corresponding to the global average of general tax rates.

The company expects to grow by at least 20% in 2006 (at 2005 exchange rates), with further improvements in operating margin and earnings per share, and says organic growth should at least match that of 2005. The target for 2007 of one billion euros in revenue and an operating margin of at least 10% (based on current exchange rates of 1 euro = 1.25 USD) should be reached, with further improvements by 2010.

Ipsos' 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.