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Smart Profit for BrainJuicer
Online market researcher BrainJuicer has reported rapid growth in 2009, with full year pre-tax profit up 21% to £1.66m; revenues up 27% to £11.8m; and operating profit up the same percentage to £1.65m.
 CEO John Kearon said his firm's 'commitment to reinventing the way market research is done' is delivering 'significantly more business from a larger number of the world's biggest companies', and restated his ambitious goal of becoming a top ten global MR group over the next decade.
Kearon says 2010 will see the launch of further innovative ideas, and the opening of offices in Brazil and China. He concedes that revenue growth at 27% was 'below our average annual growth rate over the previous four years of 37% and below our target', but that it was 'nevertheless... very pleasing in a year when the economic backdrop was so difficult.'
The firm is proposing a final dividend of 1.3p making 1.9p for the year; up from 1.5p in 2008 plus a special one-off dividend of 1.7p.
Among other 2009 highlights, the company said its new Swiss and German offices both showed a profit in their first full year. Total overseas revenue was greater than UK revenue for the first time, with strong growth in the US.
BrainJuicer now numbers eleven of the world's top 20 market research buyers among its clients (up from nine in 2008) and says its preferred 'Juicy' products grew 66% during the year and now account for 61% of its revenue, up from 46% in 2008. The company's more traditional products, which make up the remainder, are known as 'Twist' products.
Chairman Ken Ford says BrainJuicer 'continues to strike what we believe is an appropriate balance between delivering profit growth in the short term and at the same time laying the foundations for the substantially larger business which we intend to become over the next several years'. Heavy investment in 2009 went on increased headcount in client servicing, operations and product development, and on generating, testing and validating new products; while early in 2010 it has appointed Alex Batchelor in the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer.
Another key aim for the current year is to pursue preferred supplier relationships with very large buyers. Kearon says that prior to 2010 the Group had one established preferred supplier relationship, with revenue of about £1m in 2009, but is 'beginning to be invited to tender more often for these positions, alongside the largest market research companies.' He adds: 'Since the year end we have secured a second international mandate and we are optimistic that in due course we will win more.'
Web site: www.brainjuicer.com .
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