YouGov Tracking Well Towards Five-Year Growth Plans

UK-based YouGov has recorded a 9% increase in group revenue to £116.6m, and adjusted operating profit up 35% to £19.7m for the year ended 31st July 2018. The firm says it is 'tracking well' towards its five-year growth plans.

Founded in 2000 by CEO Stephan Shakespeare and now Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, YouGov is headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In its preliminary statement issued today, the firm said its five-years plans, which started on 1st August 2014, shift the balance of the business from one-off custom research to syndicated data products provided on a subscription basis. This has required the business to move further away from the traditional market research model, towards a real-time data analytics model, providing both a higher quality of earnings and a 'better fit' for the needs of clients who increasingly demand rapid analysis of real-time data on an international basis.

In its statement, the firm announced a 42% increase in adjusted profit before tax to £23.3m. The company's Data Products and Services revenue increased 25% to £59.4m, and now represents 50% of the total, up from 44% 12 months before. During the year, adjusted operating profit for Data Products and Services increased by 54%, while Custom Research revenue fell 3% to £58.7m: YouGov says this was expected because of a strategic focus on higher margin work.

The US remains the group's largest profit generator with adjusted operating profit increasing by 78% to £16.6m. Shakespeare (pictured) comments: 'This is the fourth consecutive year in which YouGov has delivered growth significantly above the market both in revenue and profit. As we move towards announcing our next five-year plan, we are confident we have a clearly superior product that is becoming ever more relevant to the market as we continue to scale and innovate'.

Web site: www.yougov.com .