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EQ Group Almost Doubles Profits
UK-based marketing services firm EQ Group Plc - which owns MR firms Buckingham Research Associates and Quaestor, as well as viewing facility Summit Studios - has posted a 95% rise in pretax profit to £598,000 for the first half of the year.
Market research generated £5,657,000 - 96% of group revenues - in the first half, an increase of 20% on 2006. Group operating profit rose by 65% to £831,000, including a profit of £166,000 resulting from the sale of software development firm Broadnet and offset partly by £50,000 of reorganisation costs and £5,000 amortisation of intangible assets.
The firm has bounced back after reporting disappointing results for the six months ended 30 June 2006, when revenue down 11% to £4.97m and operating profit was down 64% to £226,000 (www.mrweb.com/drno/news5965.htm ).
In a statement, Chairman Steve Jones and Chief Executive Bob Bond said this year's improvement reflected the return to normal activity levels of a number of key market research clients and also some success in the firm's strategy of widening its client base. They added that activity levels have reduced in the first few months of the second half of the year, as several clients put off commissioning work until Q4, which they say is looking strong.
EQ bought research and data modelling firm Buckingham Research in 2001, Yorkshire's qual and quant provider Quaestor in 2002 (www.mrweb.com/drno2k/news2080.htm ), and west London-based Summit Studios in February this year.
Web sites are http://website.eqinform.com , www.buckingham-research.com , www.quaestor.co.uk and www.summitstudios.co.uk.
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