Ebiquity shares plummeted over 7% in early morning trading on Wednesday after the company announced its planned acquisition of US-based media audit specialist Media Management for $8 million, alongside its final results.
The company noted a deepening statutory operating loss of £5.1 million compared to £2.9 million in 2020 following the accrual for the post-date remuneration, payable in 2023, for the acquisition of Digital Decisions in 2020.
Ebiquity reported a 13% rise in revenue to £63.1 million and a pre-tax profit increase to £4.1 million compared to a loss of £1.3 million in 2020.
The media investment analysis company further announced an underlying earnings per share (EPS) of 2.7p against a loss of 1.9p in 2020.
The firm attributed its rising revenue to a higher margin to £3.7 million from its Digital Media Solutions.
Ebiquity said it currently expects continued growth in Digital Media Solutions supported by its product launches in 2021 and additional services scheduled for 2022.
The company recently acquired Forde and Canadian media performance consultancy Semple Media Works in January 2022, with Ebiquity set to expand its reach in North America.
Ebiquity confirmed that trading is currently in line with the Board’s expectations and expects continued momentum moving forward in 2022.
“I am pleased with our progress in 2021, both in terms of revenue growth and importantly, a return to profit after a challenging 2020, said Ebiquity CEO Nick Waters.
“We won new mandates from major clients including Unilever, Stellantis, Daimler and Ferrero, and managed 6 of the top 10 largest global and multi-national agency selection processes by billings.”
“In terms of geographic performance, Asia Pacific grew the fastest, while North America regained momentum with strong growth. Benefiting from the ever-increasing rise in digital advertising spend, Digital Media Solutions exceeded our expectations, with strong revenue and margin improvements.”
“Looking at 2022, we expect further good revenue growth as well as margin enhancement.”
The Ebiquity share price was down 7.2% to 53.8p at the time of writing.