Optimisa Pretax Profits Take a Dive

UK marketing services group Optimisa has seen its pretax profits tumble in the first half of the year, with 2nd quarter performance well below budget in all three of its major operating units.

The group is predicting tough market conditions for some time, and says it expects the overall markets in the US and UK to continue to decline in the second half of this year.

The results reinforce the group's reduced revenue projections made in May, following what it described as 'extremely disappointing' trading conditions.

For the six months ended June 30, the group posted a pretax profit of £0.4m, compared with £0.78m for the same period last year. While revenues rose 94% to £9.1m against £4.7m last year, the company's administrative expenses almost doubled from £2.8m in 2007 to £5.6m this year.

The re-organisation and integration of the EQ business acquired at the end of 2007 was completed during the period; however, EQ did not contribute to earnings after interest costs.

On a brighter note, KAE Asia did make a positive contribution in the first half of the year.

Optimisa CEO Simon Dannatt stated that difficult market conditions along with the limited positive contribution from the major UK businesses meant that Optimisa failed to reach 'the high targets set' during the latter half of 2007.

'The year to date has been much tougher than we anticipated,' explained Dannatt. 'As a result, the group has made changes to its focus and staffing, reallocating resources to match current sector opportunities and requirements, notably in media, financial services and the public sector.'

Dannatt said the group is currently focussing on key areas including data analytics, high-end quantitative analysis and qualitative research, as well as building its teams in Asia.

'Existing and new heads of business (at Quaestor and Buckingham) - including, most recently, *David Rankin's appointment as MD of KAE - are now working together to promote a more integrated offering to our clients. Overall, I am happy to say that we are making significant progress with both existing and new clients and we believe that the work we've done thus far in 2008 will pay dividends in the future,' Dannatt concluded.

The Board has not proposed an interim dividend for the current year, in order to increase the speed at which it reduces H1 debt, which peaked at £4.3m in June.

The Optimisa Group comprises kae: marketing intelligence nxtMOVE, Andrew Irving Associates, and the EQ Group, which includes Buckingham Research Associates, Quaestor Research & Marketing Strategists and Summit Studios.

Web site: www.optimisaplc.com .


* Rankin joined KAE in 1990, having previously worked at LEK Consulting where he focused primarily on mergers & acquisitions across a variety of industries.  During his career, he has managed many market opportunity and competitive intelligence assignments, and his particular expertise is in designing and constructing analytical models that integrate primary and secondary data.

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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