Mother, CHI and BBH top financial league tables

However, the marketing industry financial newsletter's annual review of

the marketing sector showed a general deterioration in companies'
finances in the face of mounting labour and interest costs over the past
year.

BBH, led by the founder Nigel Bogle, has climbed one place to number
two, while Mother has fallen from its 2005 number-one spot to third
place. CHI has climbed three places from seventh in 2005 to fourth this
year. At 16, i-level was the highest-placed digital agency.

The review examined the financial credentials of 57 privately owned
companies under eight different categories. Good financial performance
was awarded with a "plum". This year's winner was the design consultancy
Jones Knowles Ritchie, the only company to score "plums" in all eight
categories. BBH, Mother and CHI each scored seven plums.

DFGW showed the biggest decline in performance, falling from 18th place
in 2005 to 50th this year. Both Profero and AKQA also recorded a
deterioration in performance compared with last year.

Just 30 per cent of the companies achieved the benchmark operating
profit margin of 15 per cent, while only 26 per cent managed to keep
staff costs below 55 per cent of gross income.

Bob Willott, the editor of Marketing Services Financial Intelligence,
said: "Although marketing services companies are still growing their
turnover and profits, they risk storing up big problems if they can't
control their staff costs."

While digital agencies showed the most improved financial performance of
the past year, the report also revealed growing pains caused by
advertising's shift from traditional to online media, particularly in
the skills arena.

Willott added: "The cost of experienced digital marketing professionals,
once less than that of their peers in advertising, is rising
rapidly."

THE MARKETING SERVICES FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE TOP TEN

Rank Rank Company Market Latest Plums awarded

this last sector year end (Best=8,

year year Worst=1)

1 17 Jones Knowles

Ritchie Design 30 Jun 05 8

2 3 BBH Holdings Advertising 31 Dec 04 7

3 1 Mother Holdings Advertising 31 Dec 05 7

4 7 Clemmow Hornby

Inge Advertising 30 Jun 05 7

5 5 Sandom Group Design 31 Dec 04 7

6 47 Hill Murray Group Direct

marketing 30 Sep 05 7

7 2 RLA Group Media 31 May 05 7

8 16 Rapier Direct

marketing 31 Dec 04 6

9 9 BLM Holdings

(Booth Lockett

Makin) Media 31 May 05 6

10 12 Media Campaign

Services Holdings Media 31 Jan 05 6

Source: Marketing Services Financial Intelligence.