Shares in Sorrell’s S4 Capital get boost as rapid expansion continues
Shares in S4 Capital rose more than four per cent this morning after the digital advertising firm reported strong trading for the first half.
S4, which is run by ad veteran Sir Martin Sorrell, said like-for-like revenue and gross profit were up roughly 40 per cent over the period.
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The growth marks the fledgling firm’s continued expansion, and is ahead of the company’s aim to double revenue and gross profit organically in three years to 2021.
S4 said its operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were lower than last year due to geographical expansion and a doubling of staff numbers.
The London-listed company has made a series of acquisitions since its genesis last year, including Dutch content firm Media Monks and agency Mightyhive.
In June S4 bought marketing tech firm Biztech, strengthening its relationship with Adobe and driving global expansion.
The growth has also been boosted by a series of high-profile account wins, and now counts Procter & Gamble’s Braun and Nestle’s Starbucks among its clients.
“The continued top-line revenue and gross profit momentum at twice the digital market’s growth rate clearly demonstrates the contemporary relevance to clients, of the purely digital, ‘faster, better, cheaper’, unitary, first party data, content and programmatic model,” said executive chairman Sorrell.
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“We are investing in human capital and new geographies at a faster than anticipated rate, to take our ‘holy trinity’ model to the next level.”
S4 said earnings margins are expected to improve in the second half of the year.
Main image credit: Getty