• by Larissa Faw , May 7, 2019

MDC Partners' new Chairman/CEO Mark Penn says the network is off to a "solid start" in 2019 with Q1 revenue of $328.8 million just slightly above the $327 million reported for the same period a year ago. Q1 organic revenue (which discounts the impact of M&A and currency) was down nearly 1%.

"We are implementing a two-year plan designed to transform MDC to the model of a modern marketing services company, combining top creative talent with leading data, research, strategy, digital and media offerings," Penn told analysts and investors on a Tuesday morning call to discuss results. He expects these new measures to further increase "efficiencies, encourage intra-agency cooperation and expand the offerings of our lead agencies."

There were some bright points with adjusted EBITDA of $21.5 million versus $7.8 million a year ago, and a $2.5 million net loss attributable to common shareholders versus a loss of $31.4 million a year ago. 

Net new business wins in Q1 declined $11.7 million due to client losses at "one core agency" and in the media services segment. Excluding these, the remainder of the business delivered net new business wins of $21.9 million, says the company.

Since joining the firm in March Penn has been busy attempting to overhaul the organization to streamline costs and eliminate unnecessary expenses. He plans to move the network away from the current 745 5th Avenue headquarters in NYC as well as seek to reduce other unnecessary corporate overhead. "The talent in the network is already impressive in its ability to work for the top clients in the world and we plan to enhance our capabilities to deliver more impactful results for those same clients," says Penn.

The company's full year organic revenue guidance is projected to be in the ranges of flat to up 2%.

The firm issued Q1 results before the opening bell and its stock price was up 5% in early morning trading on the NASDAQ exchange.