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Expectations Unchanged at TNS | July 9 2002 |
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In line with current market practice, Taylor Nelson Sofres has issued a trading update ahead of its interim results announcement in early September. The group's expectations for the year remain unchanged from those expressed at the AGM in mid June. Against a background of relatively flat markets in Europe and the US, with clients again deferring some of their spend into the second half, the group has performed well. In Europe, while the UK reported a decline in a weak market, good operating performances were recorded in a number of countries, including France and Germany. In the US, the group's custom business is again out-performing the market, although the Americas region as a whole is expected to show a slight downturn in the first half. Good double-digit growth has been achieved in Asia Pacific and this level of increase is thought to be sustainable through the year. The strongest sector performance has been shown by the group's Healthcare operations, which continue to win share and produced another excellent result. While Telecoms has been affected by the contraction of Indetec's services in the US, ongoing strong relationships with major IT clients have led to a satisfactory performance for IT/Telecoms in the first half and increasing growth is anticipated. As stated at the AGM, it has not yet been possible to make up the shortfall created by previously announced contract losses and this has affected the comparative performance of the Consumer and Media sectors. This is also the principal reason for the downturn in the UK and has slightly held back what was a good trading performance in France. It is anticipated, therefore, that for the first six months of 2002 the group's underlying growth will be relatively flat. Overall turnover performance for the period, including acquisitions, is expected to be well ahead of the previous year. According to Chief Executive, Mike Kirkham, 'The normal pattern in our industry is for the second half to be stronger than the first. Our expectation is that we will see a repeat of this pattern in 2002 with, if anything, a stronger emphasis on the second half than is usual. Our order book continues to be ahead of last year and the acquisitions made this year are performing well. We expect to see improved organic growth in the second half and to achieve anticipated levels of turnover for the year as a whole.' Simple printable version of this article. Email this article to a friend.
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