Record New Business in First Quarter for Stagwell

Marcoms group Stagwell has released financial results for the first quarter, with net revenue of $564m, up 6%, and adjusted EBITDA down 11% to $81m. The group says it posted a record $130m in net new business for the quarter, almost double the amount for the previous Q1.

Stagwell is the owner of the Harris Poll, Harris X and Maru research brands, and has invested substantially in integrating and building their services in recent years, including through the launch of the Harris Quest Research Suite.

The group's reported total revenue was $652m, down 3% year-on-year, but in common with other ad groups Stagwell considers the net figure, 'less pass-through costs', to be a more realistic indicator of performance.

Chairman and CEO Mark Penn comments, 'Despite the macro noise from tariffs, Stagwell's first quarter results were in line with our expectations, setting us up for a strong year ahead. Q1 is a low point in the political cycle and yet we delivered solid growth in the quarter, led by double-digit increases in our Digital Transformation, Creativity and Stagwell Marketing Cloud capabilities.' CFO Frank Lanuto (pictured) said the company had managed costs effectively and has made significant progress in simplifying its capital structure and refinancing its revolving credit facility.

For the full year 2025 the firm is forecasting total net revenue growth of around 8% and adjusted EBITDA in the range $410m to $460m.

Web site: www.stagwellglobal.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.