M&C Saatchi confident of meeting 2026 aims after annual profit slumps

(Alliance News) - M&C Saatchi PLC on Monday blamed the US government shutdown, tariffs and the tough economic backdrop for a sharp fall in annual profit.

The London-based advertising and communications agency said pretax profit fell 75% to GBP4.6 million in 2025 from GBP18.1 million in 2024.

On a like-for-like basis, pretax profit declined 34% to GBP19.4 million from GBP29.2 million.

Net revenue fell 9.2% to GBP210.0 million from GBP231.4m a year ago, or by 7.3% LFL, primarily due to the US government shutdown, US "tariff fallout" as well as a "tough macroeconomic environment."

Operating profit margin fell to 4.8% from 9.7% in 2024, or to 12.2% from 15.3% LFL.

No dividend was declared compared to 1.95 pence in 2024, with M&C Saatchi believing greater returns can be created by increasing the share buyback programme.

As a result, it intends to reallocate the amount that would otherwise have been proposed as a final dividend to enhanced share buyback plans.

Looking ahead, Executive Chair Heather Rabbatts said: "Whilst we expect continued market uncertainty, we are confident in targeting net revenue growth and operating profit growth in 2026, in line with current market expectations."

Trading in the first quarter of 2026 has "been in line with our expectations", the firm said.

Shares in M&C Saatchi were down 0.6% at 114.26 pence each in London on Monday.

By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter

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