YouGov Share News (YOU)

(Sharecast News) - YouGov reported revenue growth of 16% in its half-year results on Wednesday, slowing from 18% year-on-year, with its underlying business growth coming in at 15%.
The AIM-traded research and analytics company reported unaudited revenue of ?76.9m for the six months ended 31 January.

Adjusted operating profit rose 35% to ?11.4m, with the firm reporting underlying business growth of 34%.

It said its adjusted profit before tax rose 27% to ?12.1m, while adjusted earnings per share were ahead 35% at 8.7p.

YouGov's adjusted operating profit margin rose by two percentage points to 15% year-on-year, while its statutory operating profit grew 13% to ?9.5m.

It reported "strong" cash conversion of 93%, and said it had cash balances of ?27.2m at period end, up from ?25m a year earlier.

Data products and services revenue was 17% higher at ?43.4m, with 17% of that coming from underlying business, with the division now representing 55% of total revenue, up from 54%.

YouGov said data products revenue increased 29%, with 27% from underlying business, to ?25.1m, while data services revenue rose 3%, with 7% from underlying business, to ?18.3m, which was offset by restructuring in the Nordics, non-recurring election work in the Asia Pacific region, and soft performance in Germany.

Custom research revenue was 12% higher at ?33.9m, with 11% from underlying business, as the company said it continued its strategic focus on higher margin work, which resulted in a 19% increase in operating profit to ?8.0m.

The United States remained the largest driver, the board said, with adjusted operating profit increasing by 20% to ?9.3m.

It also said it had made further investment in building and developing its panels in Australia, India, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Spain and Taiwan during the half-year.

Looking at its current trading, YouGov said the second half of its financial year had started positively, and was in line with board expectations for the full-year.

It said that to date, it had not yet seen any material impact to its business from the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Notwithstanding the current macroeconomic situation, the firm said its pipeline of sales opportunities for its syndicated data products remained "strong", with more opportunities for growth in custom research.

It was making continued investment in strategic initiatives, such as the roll-out of 'YouGov Direct' across further geographies.

The board cautioned that it was seeing a "small minority" of existing clients requesting payment deferrals or cancellations, which it was handling on a case-by-case basis.

YouGov said that, given the "unprecedented nature" of the pandemic, it was difficult to estimate its impact on its clients and their financial stability going forward.

Thus, it said it considered it prudent to anticipate that the situation could cause clients to delay projects, default, or request longer payment terms, as well as a slowdown in some business wins.

The firm said it was "closely monitoring" the fluid situation, and its potential impact on its pipeline over the coming months and into its next financial year, which begins on 1 August.

"With strong cash balances and no debt, we are confident of YouGov's resilience to endure the period of uncertainty," the board said in its statement.

"We have taken and will continue to take all the necessary actions to protect our business and people.

"The health and safety of our people is of paramount importance," it added, explaining that as of Wednesday, all 38 YouGov offices were closed, with its entire workforce working from home.

The company had no current intention to furlough any employees, or apply for any government loans or grants.

It said that as an online company, it had an established culture of remote and flexible working, and as a result, its clients were continuing to receive "business as usual" service, with the board saying YouGov was well-positioned to maintain that continuity of service during the period.

Prudent cost reviews and contingency planning had been undertaken, with the directors saying they were continuing to closely monitor the "rapidly evolving situation" in order to respond accordingly.

"We understand the importance of accurate and easily accessible data and insights during these unprecedented times.

"To support the healthcare research community and public health bodies across the world, we have partnered with the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London to gather global insights on people's behaviours and opinions in response to Covid-19, with the data being freely available for public health researchers.

"We have also developed the YouGov Covid-19 Monitor for our commercial clients to help provide key consumer and social insights, including market and sector impact and health compliance, across 29 markets."

Since the period ended, the company noted that it had signed a strategic multi-year contract with a large international financial services company based in Germany.

It also launched 'YouGov Recommend+', which it described as a net promoted score and brand tracking service, making full use of its data assets, and said a panel expansion was underway to include Austria, Brazil, Switzerland and Turkey.

"YouGov turns 20 this year and I am confident of the company's resilience during this period of macroeconomic and social uncertainty," said chief executive officer Stephan Shakespeare.

"We meet the new challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic from a position of strength, with a robust business model, strong balance sheet and skilled employees who continue to provide our clients with valuable opinions and consumer insights across their markets.

"YouGov data is an important tool for our clients at this time, helping them to understand and respond to rapidly changing consumer and social sentiment."

Shakespeare said trading during the second half of the financial year had started positively, and is in line with board expectations for the full-year.

"We are yet to see any material impact to our business from the global outbreak of Covid-19, and we continue to monitor the situation closely."

At 1131 BST, shares in YouGov were up 11.36% at 657p.