• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, September 10, 2020

Martin Sorrell-led S4 Capital posted first half revenues of £141.3 million ($183 million) up 60.7% on a reported basis. Most of the growth was due to M&A activity. Organic revenue growth (which excludes M&A and currency impact) was 6.9%. The after-tax loss for the period was £8.8 million ($11.4 million). Organic pre-tax profits were up 12.2%.

The Company now has over 2,650 people in 30 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific. Its current market capitalization is approximately £1.9 billion ($2.6 billion).

New business wins in the first half included assignments from Paypal, Dole Foods, Bumble, Verizon and others. The company said it currently has two clients that deliver $20 million-plus in revenue annually including Google and one undisclosed technology company. A third so-called "whopper" of a client is expected to be announced “very shortly,” the firm said.

Like other holding companies, S4 said April was the firm’s worst month and that revenue has gradually increased since then, a trend expected to continue through the end of the year with a “full-throated recovery” expected in 2021.

Full-year 2020 organic revenue is expected to reach double-digits. Ad categories will recover unevenly, S4 said, projecting that verticals like technology, healthcare, financial, in-home entertainment and online shopping will experience “V” shaped recoveries while longer-term “L” shaped recoveries will be experienced by the travel and hospitality sectors. In between those verticals experiencing more rapid and slower recoveries will be sectors like packaged goods and autos.

“The tragedy of COVID-19 has only accelerated the speed of digital transformation and disruption at consumer, media, and enterprise levels,” stated Sorrell. He added that S4 was positioned for significant growth with a “strong and liquid balance sheet in a great financial place to expand through further combinations, which will add to our data, content, digital media and technological capabilities.”