YouGov sinks to pre-tax loss

The company reported a turnover of £44.2m in the 12 months to 31 July 2010, slightly down from its revenue of £44.3m in the year before.

The company, which is headed up by chief executive Stefan Shakespeare, said it had managed to make operating cost savings of £2.5m in the period.

However its profits were hit by an exceptional items charge of £1.8m - a write down of £7.9m and amortisation of intangibles of £3.7m.

Shakespeare, commenting on the results, said: "YouGov has made considerable progress during the year and profitability improved significantly in the second half of the year.

"The US and UK have both delivered strong performances, continuing the strength of the core YouGov model which is now at the focus of our strategy."

In August this year, the company expanded its presence in the US with the £3.8m acquisition of Harrison Group, a market research agency with a roster of blue-chip clients.

The company, in its financial announcement, said: "The acquisition of Harrison Group in the US builds on what we have already achieved there and will help us to increase scale and accelerate the growth of our corporate market research revenue in this important market."

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk