M&C Saatchi books annual loss but upgrades guidance

Archived article

Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.

Advertising firm M&C Saatchi booked a full-year loss but upgraded its annual guidance, citing a corporate restructure that saw it cut costs.

Pre-tax losses for the year through December amounted to £8.5 million, compared to year-on-year losses of £8.6 million. Revenue fell 12% to £225.4 million.

The company said its 'headline' profit fell 52% to £8.3 million, but was nevertheless ahead of its expectations.

Looking ahead, M&C Saatchi said it expected its full-year results to be ahead of consensus market expectations.

It had traded ahead of expectations for first five months of 2021 and anticipated posting a headline pre-tax profit for the first half in excess of £10 million.

'2020 was undoubtedly a watershed year for the company,' chief executive Moray MacLennan said.

'We went into the year confronted by Covid-19 and ended with a new strategy and the unswerving support of the group's employees and a new structure in place for 2021.'