YouGov Continues Strong Growth

YouGov has reported revenue of £169.0m for the year to July 31st, up 18% in like-for-like terms and 11% reported. Reported pre-tax profit rose 24% to £18.9m, and adjusted operating profit rose 32% like-for-like (21% reported) to £31.2m.

Like-for-like figures ('underlying' is YouGov's word) adjust for the impact of exchange rate moves and acquisitions. The company cited strong performance across all three of its divisions and geographies 'driven by continuous client demand'. Data Products division revenue increased by 13% (18% underlying) to £58.0m, with a strong contribution from mainland Europe; while Custom Research revenue increased by 2% (12% underlying) to £65.6m, with the planned closure of operations in Kurdistan offset by 'stellar performance' in the US. The firm says bundling of sales between these two divisions has resulted in larger and more strategic long-term deals signed during the period. The third division, Data Services, saw the fastest growth with revenue up 20% (22% underlying) to £45.5m, due to 'continued strong client demand for more tactical, fast turnaround projects'.

YouGov says it has seen broad-based growth across all geographies, with the US and continental Europe continuing to perform exceptionally well on the back of large contract wins; has launched a number of new products throughout the year including data marketplace YouGov Safe; and invested some £11.7m (FY20: £8.9m) in the expansion of its panel into 15 new markets, thus adding 53% to its registered members base, now at 17.5m. The firm has begun operations in Latin America (Brazil), and completed bolt-on acquisitions including open banking start-up Lean App and research and data insights companies in Turkey, Australia and Canada. Last week it acquired UK-based ad tech company Rezonence. It has also made progress with the development of its YouGov Platform, which once fully rolled out will 'allow clients to seamlessly move between data products, run research surveys, analyse the findings, view custom trackers and conduct marketing activation, all within a single sign-on platform'.

CEO Stephan Shakespeare comments: 'We are pleased to end this financial year in line with our expectations, demonstrating sustained growth despite the continuing disruption caused by the pandemic. This is testament to the resilience of our business model, the hard work of our people and heightened demand for YouGov's tailored solutions, providing valuable opinions and consumer insights to help our clients make informed decisions'. He adds: 'YouGov also continues to demonstrate momentum on the stated strategy as we enter the third year of our second long-term strategic growth plan. We believe that the investments we made in the first half of our plan have placed us in a strong position for the final two years'.

Non-Executive Chair Roger Parry (pictured) has announced he will be standing down from the role in 2022, with the Board currently seeking a successor; and says this is accompanied by a thorough external review of its Board, senior management structure, skills and succession planning. Parry said 'During this financial year YouGov celebrated its 21st anniversary, having been founded by Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim Zahawi in 2000. YouGov began its journey as an Internet-based, UK polling company and has since evolved into a world-class global data analytics provider. When I joined the YouGov Board in 2007, the Group's market capitalization was approximately £130m and we had about 80 members of staff. I am extremely proud to say that we started FY22 with more than 1,350 employees and a market capitalisation exceeding £1.3bn.

'YouGov's success is largely the function of the hard work, commitment and talent of our teams worldwide. On behalf of our shareholders, I would like to thank them for their role in helping the Company achieve this extraordinary feat and for their continued support'.

Web site: www.yougov.com .

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