Aegis Heartened By Positive Annual Results
The media and marketing group, Aegis has announced a 12.8% rise in profits for 2002, following an increase in business at the Carat network.
“2002 saw a slight easing of the difficult market conditions that we experienced in 2001,” said chief executive Doug Flynn. “Our planning for 2003 has been built around further gradual improvement. We expect to see further progress and a satisfactory year for the company in 2003.”
Year on year comparisons for the second half of 2002 suggest that the decline in the European market has been arrested and the company is predicting positive growth this year.
Aegis has also announced that the BBJ agency is to be replaced by an international media network called Vizeum. The new operation will function alongside the thriving Carat network where billings were up by 10% to $16.2 billion last year.
The parent company has expressed an interest in NFO, the research subsidiary of the troubled Interpublic group, but is expected to face competition on that front from United Business Media (see UBM Profits Fall 24% In Tough US Ad Conditions).
Shares in Aegis were down 1.5p at 52p by mid-afternoon today.
