M&C Saatchi Share News (SAA)

Though advertising agency M&C Saatchi remains cautious about the macro environment it is looking forward to a solid 2011, with the revenue momentum built up through 2010 continuing into the current year.Billings rose to £464.0m in 2010 from £370.8m the year before. Revenue was up 21% to £125.1m from £103.4m in 2009, with like-for-like (excluding exchange movements) revenues increasing by 16%.UK revenues rose 9% while in Europe revenues improved 18% on a constant exchange rates (CER) basis. The Australia and Asia region saw CER-based revenues jump 14%."We continued to make progress in the US, albeit with our operations that remain modest. We have explored alliances in New York and are currently establishing a hub for our growing non-advertising businesses," the company said.The group announced the formation of a joint venture in Russia with EMCG, one of Russia's leading independent agencies. "With the formation of a joint venture in Russia, our global network is complete - operating from 26 offices in 19 countries across six continents - meaning we are better placed than ever before to drive international revenue growth," David Kershaw, company chief executive, said.Profit before tax dipped to £7.8m from £10.3m.Group debt reduced to £2.3m from £4.4m.The final dividend has been hiked 10.2% to 3.03p from 2.75p the year before. The full year dividend is 7.7% higher at 3.90p, up from 3.62p in 2009.Singer Capital Markets described the figures "a very strong set of results", with revenues and profit before tax 6.4% and 10.8%, respectively, ahead of its forecasts.However, the broker notes: "The outlook is more mixed with a combination of slower than expected progress from the newer offices, general client caution (particular retailers) and some to be clarified values for large account wins offsetting some of the generally positive momentum of the business."- - -jh