Brokers' view: Edison

Analyst Fiona Orford-Williams has enthused on the prospects of AIM-quoted advertising superpower M&C Saatchi following a strong set of interim results.

Orford-Williams insisted that ‘brand owners have money to spend and are increasingly deploying it on a multinational basis’. With top-line growth standing at 23 per cent, the analyst argued that Saatchi has the ‘scale, range of capability and financial strength’ to satisfy the ‘prequalification processes of the intermediaries that run large account pitching’.

Furthermore, the group’s offices in both Italy and the Americas are in profit, while Africa is expected to generate a profit in the second half of this year. Profits of £14.6 million (EPS: 13.9p) on sales of £134.8 million are pencilled in for the year to December 2011.

Strong prospects at Brainjuicer
Orford-Williams joined forces with fellow Edison analyst Derek Terrington to write a note on market research specialist Brainjuicer. The AIM-quoted concern declared a set of interim results described by the duo as showing the group is ‘continuing to broaden its geographic mix’.

Having recently announced the opening of a fourth office in the US, Edison notes that the country ‘remains the largest purchaser of market research’, something which is ‘key’ to developing a sustainable overall business model.

Profits of £2.5 million (EPS: 13p) on sales of £20.8 million are expected for the year to December 2011, with profits set to climb to £3.2 million (EPS: 16.8p) on revenue of £26.4 million in 2012.